My Loving Demonic Godmother
by WillieG.R
Summary: *Sukima Series Spin-off* Shinki has been visiting the Hakurei Shrine far too often and has her sons and daughters feeling jealous of one of the residents there.  Will this lead to the separation of Gensokyo and Makai? *Rika Onkamikami past story*
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:**

**This story's time-line links with that of Dear Friend from Sukima's end, and will also coincide with the next Sukima's (Icicle Sukima) timeline.

* * *

**

It's a quiet, and beautiful morning at the Hakurei Shrine, which sits on the eastern side of Gensokyo, on top of a tall mountain, where it's shrine maiden, Reimu Hakurei, protector and incident resolver of Gensokyo, watches over the border that separates the physical outside world, from the wondrous paradise of Gensokyo, where magic, faith and physical coexist in harmony; ...to a certain point.

The world of Gensokyo, though quite a seemingly peaceful paradise, it's full of many youkai that cause many incidents, making this world quite chaotic, which is quite fun for most of its residents.

The Hakurei Shrine; on its entrance towers a worn out, yet magnificent red gate, and to its left lies an extension for the Moriya Shrine, and behind it; or in front, if you want to get picky; rests an ever-lonely donation box, which has been getting more attention lately, surprisingly enough.

Inside of it, a few coins lie scattered, glistening with the bit of light that shines through the barred opening on top of the box.

To the left of the first shrine building, the main shrine, rests a beautiful hot spring, which erupted the day one stupid, crazy hell raven lost control of her powers and tried to turn the world into hell.

Father behind are the living quarters, where Reimu and Rika Onkamikami, the shrine's maid, eat, bathe, sleep, and share with the many uninvited guests, which are mostly youkai.

Quite counter-productive, seeing as they scare human worshipers away, even with Reimu and Rika keeping said 'guests' in check.

Surrounding the surprisingly large shrine are many trees, which are mostly currently pink, and flowers that are in full bloom thanks to the wondrous spring season, and a large lake behind the storage house of the shrine, where a large flying turtle called Genjii lives.

Also know that where there are trees, there are also bushes, where the naughty tend to hide in order to play pranks on others.

Right behind the shrine's living quarters, there is a large courtyard, where Rika, and on the extremely rare occasion, Reimu, train hard to improve their skills.

Plainly visible in the back of this courtyard is the shrine's storage house, and to the left of said storage house, nestled between some flowers and bushes, is a greenhouse, which is filled with flowers, vegetables, and medicinal herbs grown by Rika herself.

Resting on top of said greenhouse is a large red bird with white glowing eyes, a mid-sized pointy beak, wings with feathers even redder than the rest of her body, a small and messy red tail, and upon stretching, she reveals hints of white waves under her wings.

Her name is Suzaku, the Vermillion bird, and she is Rika's familiar, which has also become quick friends with the shrine's maid.

And so begins this peaceful morning in the Hakurei shrine.

* * *

The door to the greenhouse opens up, and Suzaku immediately takes a dive, and through her mind, she excitedly calls "master, good morning!"

She lands on the left shoulder of Rika Onkamikami, who gets a bit startled, but smiles after placing her light-blue eyes on the vermillion bird, then says "Suzaku, good morning. My, you seem to be in a good mood today."

Rika wears her kimono-style shrine maiden outfit, with her white, long-sleeved shirt, long red skirt with white waves on the bottom border of the skirt, which seems to trail back up to her waist where they disappear, wraps a large red ribbon around her waist, which enhances her womanly figure, and ties it as two bows over the front, a pair of black slippers, her sapphire yin-yang necklace around her neck, and her fiery-red scarf around her neck, which has the word 'The Will of Fire' written in kanji, separated by each end of said scarf.

Her long brown wavy hair, which reaches her lower back, rests against her small angelic wings, which she constantly flaps involuntarily, causing massive nosebleeds amongst her friends, though this fact remains a wonder to her, and although she is shorter than Reimu, she has a more defined body and ample chest; something Reimu herself dreads, but manages to ignore most of the time.

Rika scratches the top of Suzaku's head, making the bird tweet long and contently, then says "I need to train a bit, so please give me some room."

Suzaku suddenly opens her wings and stretches her neck up to the sky, lets out a beautiful, yet disappointingly short song, then flies down to the ground in front of Rika and excitedly says "master, let's have a small sparring match!"

Rika stares at Suzaku with surprise and remains silent, then places her hands on her waist, bends down, then asks "and how do you suggest we do that?"

Suzaku flaps her wings once, then replies "grant me some of your energy and allow me to transform."

Rika stares at the red bird with a neutral face, then says "that is not for playing around, you know that."

Suzaku stares back at Rika, then says "but we need to practice with it so we can have better control over it, right?"

Rika sighs, straightens back up, and while raising her eyes to the sky, she smiles and says "fine. You're right. We do need to practice."

After saying that, Rika lifts her arms to chest-height, points her relaxed open hands at Suzaku, closes her eyes, then focuses her energy.

After a second, Suzaku starts glowing, her body grows until it's the same height as Rika's, then takes a humanoid shape.

The glowing stops as suddenly as it started, and now, a girl with short red hair with a white stripe on the front, white, almost lavender eyes, wearing a simple short-sleeved red dress with white trims, and a pair of black slippers, now stands in the bird's place.

Rika smiles, then says "you're really cute, you know that?"

Suzaku blushes, then smiles and says "let's hurry. You know this won't last long."

Rika smiles back at the girl, pulls her small box-like Saboten Stock from her right pocket, pushes a small button on it, its top opens up, then two wooden swords the size of a pinkie fly right out of it and land on Rika's hand, growing to normal size when free from the beam.

Rika smiles as she hands one sword over to Suzaku, and the second she touches the sword's hilt, wooden clacks start echoing through the air.

* * *

While Rika and the humanoid Suzaku are busy with their training, they remain unaware of a few pair of eyes that glare at them, specifically toward Rika, from behind a thick concentration of foliage to the right of the courtyard.

The glaring eyes belong to Yumeko, Shinki's maid over at Pandemonium in Makai, Sara, the gate guard for Makai's entrance, Luize, the one in charge of the ever-popular Makai air tour, and a blonde incubus.

Yumeko wears her long red maid's dress with white apron over it, and a maid's headdress over her long blonde hair, which matches her yellow eyes.

Sara wears her dark-red dress with white scarf around her neck, short white sleeves over her shoulders, and flicks her pink hair with her fingers, while keeping her matching pink eyes on Rika.

Luize wears her usual white hat with purple ribbon over her blonde hair she ties into a bun, and stares at Yumeko with her narrow yellow eyes.

She wears a white dress tied around her waist by a purple belt, and has a purple sailor's scarf over her shoulders.

The incubus has a pair of yellow bat wings on his head, matching his long blonde hair, wears a tight red muscle shirt with an open back for his raven-black bat wings, a pair of blue jeans with a black belt, and a pair of black boots for good measure.

He points at Rika, and with a rough voice, he asks "that is HER? The pathetic meat-sack mother is so infatuated with? Screw this, I'm going over there and tainting the bitch!"

Before he can take a single step toward Rika, Yumeko grabs the man and pulls him down to sit on the ground, then angrily whispers "do NOT underestimate her, Hiro! She went one-on-one against that demon human and came back with just a few scratches! You waltz in there with those lustful intents, and you're as good as dead!"

Luize and Sara start hopping up and down, then Sara excitedly whispers "I can't believe this! Mom's here already!"

Luize growls inward, then says "look at the way she's staring at the human. Like she's proud of her, or something."

The incubus shrugs while asking "what the hell does she see in that girl?"

Yumeko snarls while looking at the small opening between the leaves of the bushes they are hiding behind, then says "I don't know, but it's really pissing me off. We don't need an outsider taking mom away from us."

The four jealous little children are completely unaware of the short blonde haired, green-eyed girl with one epic fashion sense smiling at them while waving her arms in front of herself toward them, and while on plain sight of them even.

Parsee Mizuhashi, the jealousy youkai that SHOULD be guarding the bridge between the subterranean and top-side worlds, wears a black shirt under a brown vest with purple borders that have a white string motif, a pair of white arm warmers, a pink sash for a belt, a blue and black skirt with red strings crisscrossed at the bottom, a pink scarf around her neck, pink socks, and a pair of black shoes.

As she smiles and collects and returns jealousy energies, she says to herself "oh, this is just delicious. So much jealousy! Oh, where have you been all my life?"

The four Makaians are too distracted by Shinki's presence; their beautiful goddess and mother smiles as she looks at the shrine maid with such light in her light-blue eyes.

Shinki stands next to the shrine's storage house, wearing her red robe over a pink shirt, and as she watches Rika with a motherly smile on her face, the wind blows on her slivery-blue hair, making it flutter in harmony with the gentle morning breeze, making even her side-ponytail sway in harmony.

Hiro sighs, then says "look, let's go home. We'll prepare something for mom... something that will make her forget about that girl! That way, we won't have to worry about her, ever again."

Luize smiles, then exclaims "good idea! But what?"

Yumeko turns to her brethren and says "we'll figure something out. Come on! Let's tell the others."

They all nod in unison, then Sara, Luize and Hiro, the incubus, run straight back to the portal back to Makai.

Yumeko throws one more hateful glance at Rika, then follows after her brothers, all while Parsee frowns as she places her hands on her hips, and sounding ever disappointed, she says to herself "maaaan, and it was just starting to get good!"

* * *

Over at the courtyard's very center, Rika and Suzaku push their wooden swords against each other, keeping their eyes set on each other, then Rika slowly relaxes.

Feeling her master relaxing, Suzaku relaxes as well, drops the wooden sword on the ground, then starts glowing again.

As her body shrines, she telepathically says "we held out longer than yesterday, Rika-sama."

The glowing stops, and Suzaku recovers her true, bird form, so Rika bends down to pick up the exhausted vermillion bird while saying "I am quite amazed. You matched me so easily, and just after two training sessions."

Straightening up with Suzaku on her right shoulder, Rika swipes the swear off her forehead with the back of her left hand, then turns around over the sound of someone clapping softly.

Rika's eyes widen at the sight of Shinki, smiling at her as she walks over, saying "my, that was impressive, Rika. I'm so glad to see you're back in shape so quickly."

Shocked and surprised, Rika can only stare as she softly says "miss Shinki?"

Moments later, Rika has Shinki sitting next to a short table on a blue cushion inside the shrine's living quarters, or main 'house', so to speak.

While waiting for Rika to finish preparing breakfast, Shinki looks at her surroundings of the familiar shrine to pass the time.

Behind her, the doorway they used to enter remains with one of its many sliding doors open, letting in a cool breeze.

To her right, the wooden wall is adorned by a single open scroll written in a strange language, to the right of said scroll rests a wooden cabinet with seven drawers, and to the left of the scroll is a single sliding door, meant to be the main entrance.

The knobs on that cabinet are the same color of the cabinet and drawers, so it's kind of bland and easy to miss.

In front of her is the corridor leading to the individual rooms, and it seems it's lacking much light, as even though it's daytime, inside the corridor one could confuse the current time and think it's still dawn.

Above the doorway to the corridors hangs a well-polished wooden perch, where Suzaku is currently perching on, preening herself with a most content look on her face.

To her left, far away from the surprisingly large living room, is the kitchen.

It's quite ample, and has small cabinets under the two long brown counters, as well as having two more cabinets hanging on the wall beside the stove.

Further in are more sliding doors that lead straight to the courtyard on the back, but these doors remain closed for the moment.

She watches Rika with motherly eyes, as the maid places the prepared food on a tray that sits on the counter to her immediate right, and giggles when she notices how meticulous Rika is as she places each chopstick facing toward the rice bowls, making sure they are set perfectly.

Once she is satisfied with her work, Rika reaches for the mugs of tea, sets them to the right of each chopstick, firmly grabs the tray with both hands, and as soon as she lifts it up, she smiles at Shinki and says "thank you for your patience."

* * *

Shinki smiles back at Rika, and in a sweet tone of voice, she asks "Rika, sweetie, why did you go through all that trouble? I just came over to visit."

Rika walks over to the table and sets the tray in front of the goddess, and as she begins serving the plates, bowl and mugs full of reddish-colored tea, she smiles and says "well, it's breakfast time, and it would be rude to our guests if we get to eat, and she only gets to watch."

Shinki stares curiously at Rika, then asks "but isn't Reimu sleeping?"

From the room corridor's doorway, Reimu has her black bed-head hair standing unevenly all over her head, her left eye is narrowed, and she wears an oversized pink pajama that covers down to her ankles.

She yawns and stretches her right arm in the air while scratching her hip with her left hand, then sleepily says "good morning Rika. I see we have a guest. What bring you here, miss goddess?"

Shinki stares at Reimu with surprise, but quickly smiles, waves her right hand in the air, then says "good morning miss Reimu~!"

Right after Shinki finishes, Rika says "good morning, miss Reimu. Breakfast is served, so please come and enjoy."

Still groggy, Reimu stares back at the girls with distant eyes and a wriggled lip, lightly swaying left and right while rubbing her right eye with her right palm.

After breakfast, Shinki sits over the porch with her half-filled mug of tea on her hands, allowing her legs to hang down to the ground.

Reimu, who has finally woken up, wears her regular outfit with the white detached sleeves of hers, red vest over white sleeveless shirt, yellow ascot, that red skirt that reaches to her knees, pink socks, and her hair is now combed and adorned up by a large red bow with white waves around the borders, and has those strange red tube-things wrapped around her long sideburns.

She sits next to Shinki, then asks "are you really that worried about her?"

Shinki takes a slow, deep breath, and looking toward the trees, she asks "miss Reimu, whatever do you mean?"

Reimu smiles smugly, then says "come on, you didn't come over here just to say hi. You were worried about her."

Shinki chuckles nervously, but before she can answer, a very familiar girl's voice from the shrine's front loudly calls "good morning! Reimu, are you awake yet?"

A high-pitched girl's voice adds "we brought bread!", and a second high-pitched girl's voice adds "jeez, you're making us sound strange, Hourai."

Shinki giggles, then calls "Alice, Shanghai, Hourai, my sweeties, we're over here."

Reimu sighs in frustration and says "please, don't call them over yet. I want to enjoy this peace a bit longer."

Shinki looks back at Reimu with confusion and disbelief, then says "my, you sure are grumpy this morning."

An orange-eyed girl with short blonde hair adorned by a frilly pink headband, wearing a light-blue dress tied with a frilly pink sash around her waist, a white capelet over her shoulders, and a pair of boots, walks over to the goddess and the maiden, holding on to a large black book on her right hand.

Accompanying the girl are two miniature blue-eyed girls with long blond hair, one wearing a blue dress with a tiny white apron and a large red ribbon on her head, and the other, who is holding on to a small basket with bread inside, wears a red dress with a blood-red apron, and a red plastic flower on her head.

Reimu and Shinki stare back at the newly arrived gests, then Shinki smiles and says "Alice," the girl smiles back, "Shanghai," the blue-dressed miniature girl smiles and bows, "Hourai," the red-dressed miniature girl chuckles, "good morning! What a surprise to see you here!"

Alice stares back at Shinki with a bit of surprise on her face and replies "well, I could say the same, mom."

* * *

From inside the shrine, the curious Rika peeks her head and asks "my lady, do we have more visitors?", but before Reimu has time to reply, Rika feels two points of pressure on each side of her ribs, the floor under her feet seems to switch places and now seems to be under her back.

Confused, Rika recovers her knocked out breath, blinks twice, touches her ribs, then realizes there are two tiny girls clinging tightly to her, both shouting "RIKAAA~! Mom, it's Rika!"

Shanghai and Hourai lost control of their emotions, and have jumped on Rika, tackling her hard and sending her to the ground while rubbing their faces just below her breasts.

Still a bit shaken, Rika gently rubs the girls' little heads and asks "Shanghai, Hourai, is that you?"

From outside, Alice nervously says "I'm so sorry, Rika! Are you alright? Shanghai, Hourai, get off her!"

Rika manages to sit up straight, and with a smile on her face, she says "it's alright miss Alice, I do not mind one bit! B-beside... I..."

Rika lowers her face, her smile becomes pained, and in a lower tone of voice, Rika says "I owe these two, and you, miss Alice, an apology for what I did on the night of the eclipse. I... I almost-"

Before she can finish, Shanghai lets go of Rika's ribs and jumps to Rika's neck, knocking the maid down a second time while shouting "Rika does not need to apologize! She was not well!"

Hourai immediately adds "she wasn't being herself, and even so, she didn't hurt us! She saved us, right mama Alice?"

The puppeteer magician doesn't share the exact same feelings as her two little daughters, and feels even less inclined to say something kind when she remembers that night.

Rika stained in black, swinging her sword around like a wild animal and threatening the lives of anybody near her.

When Alice returns from her thoughts, she realizes Hourai is now flying right in front of her face, staring back at her with those strong and determined blue eyes.

Shinki giggles, then says "oh my, these children seem to love Rika quite a lot, don't they."

Alice sighs in defeat, and although she would love nothing more than to scold Rika just a bit, she swallows that desire and says "it's alright Rika-san. I understand you couldn't control yourself... so there's no need to apologize."

Rika smiles along with the cheers from the two tiny girls, then Shanghai gives Rika another tight hug around the neck and exclaims "Rika is a good girl!", and just like that, Rika's family sword turns colorful, it's blade turns light-blue, the hilt turns red, and the jewel on said hilt glows intensely blue twice, startling the two little girls.

Shanghai and Hourai take the ground to get closer to Rika's sword and cautiously explore it with their tiny eyes as though seeing something for the first time in the lives, though honestly, a glowing jewel on a changing sword isn't an every-day thing, even in Gensokyo.

Rika giggles at the adoring sight of the two cautiously curious girls, then says "my sword is telling us that you two think of me as a real friend. Thank you so much, Shanghai and Hourai."

Shinki now stands to Alice's left, and holds her hands together beside her right cheek while saying "aww, isn't this a sweet sight?"

Alice just turns the corner of her eyes towards her mother, while Reimu remains as calm as if nothing is happening.

The maiden opens her eyes wider, groans, places her left hand on her forehead, and as she rubs it, she says "and this peaceful moment is about to get ruined by one annoying regular."

Shinki and Alice both stare curiously at the maiden, then Shinki asks "whatever do you mean, miss Reimu?"

As if waiting for the question to be asked, there is a sudden, very loud thud that startles all currently present visitors; it comes from the large courtyard on the back of the shrine, accompanied by the very loud voice of a girl that calls "RIKAAAAAA! I came over to play today~!"

Reimu sighs as she covers her eyes with her right hand, and almost crying, she whispers to herself "why?"

* * *

From the back of the shrine comes a girl with red eyes and very long blue hair, wearing a black hat with peaches clinging on both side of said hat, a pink, short-sleeved dress with colorful frills at the bottom, a long blue skirt, and a pair of brown cross-laced boots.

She stares at the girls on the left-side entrance of the shrine's living quarters, tilts her head left with a curious look, then says "well, you actually have visitors other than Marisa, or me... or Mima... or Suika... or that annoying reporter... or that-"

Cutting her off, Reimu smiles as she loudly says "yes, yes, I get it. Since you can see I am busy here, you can go back home and return some other day."

Though keeping her friendly smile, a drop of swear rolls down Shinki's right cheek as she whispers "oh my, so hostile, so early in the morning."

Tenshi smiles, nods, then says "alright, I'll go straight inside and stay with Rika. Don't worry, I won't bother you are all today."

From the sky, a rather tomboyish, yet strangely feminine voice loudly says "that's a great idea! Leave the bothering of Reimu to me, ze!"

A single tear hangs under Reimu's right eye upon hearing her annoying friend's voice, and after face palming herself so hard it smacks loudly, Reimu whispers to herself "and now, my day is officially ruined."

Shinki kneels behind Reimu and rubs her shoulders, whispering "come on, it's alright miss Reimu. Just take it easy."

Flying on a bamboo broom above Alice, wearing a black witch's hat, a black vest with red borders over a short-sleeved white shirt, a black skirt with a brown apron that has a dark-brown 'M' on it, and a pair of white socks and black shoes, is Reimu's long-time friend, Marisa Kirisame, the Thieving, err... Ordinary Black Witch.

Her blonde hair, which reaches down to her back, flutters as she descends in front of Reimu, staring curiously at her friend with those yellow eyes of hers.

Upon landing, Marisa gets closer to the maiden, concernedly asking "hectic morning?"

Reimu raises her disturbingly smiling face at her friend, and in a failed attempt to sound friendly, making herself sound more threatening than anything, Reimu replies "there is just no peace in this place."

Marisa quickly jumps back, defensively raising her hands in front of her own chest, saying "whoa, whoa, I didn't come to pick a fight. Just came for a visit."

Reimu sighs in defeat, then calmly says "it's alright. I'm not mad. I just wish I could have a little more peace around here."

Marisa jumps behind Reimu, places her hands under the maiden's armpits, then playfully says "looks like someone needs some love."

Reimu replies with a gohei on Marisa's head, crumpling the witch's hat in the process, and through gritted teeth she says "you're really pushing it Kirisame."

From inside the shrine, Rika calls "my lady, please come inside. The guests are waiting for you."

When Reimu and Marisa look behind themselves, they realize that Tenshi, Shinki, Alice and her two little daughters are sitting around the small table with mugs of tea on their hands, and a tray of cookies and cakes on the table, which Tenshi keeps picking on at a rather rapid pace.

* * *

Later that day, Rika takes time to tend the plants in her greenhouse while Tenshi is with Alice, the tiny girls, and Reimu inside the hot spring, and Marisa is snooping around the shrine in her underwear, under the pretext of needing to use the bathroom, when in reality, she's looking for any spells she could steal... I mean, borrow.

Shinki takes this chance and follows after Rika, acting a bit suspicious, and just a tad bit jumpy, flinching when a gust of wind blows on a leaf, or a twig snaps.

Suzaku perches on top of the greenhouse once more, and noticing Shinki's behavior, she decides to speak directly into the goddess mind.

Shinki lets out a quick yelp when she hears Suzaku's voice in her mind, saying "you know you are supposed to keep your distance, goddess of Makai."

Shinki quickly finds Suzaku up on the greenhouse's roof, and stares determinedly at the bird, telepathically replying "I know, but can you blame me? That despicable man almost broke her, so don't expect me to just sit back and watch from the sidelines! I want to know if she's really alright, nothing more!"

Suzaku shifts her wings and tweets, then replies "she's fine, I can guarantee you that much, so please, don't push the matter."

Shinki's determined eyes lock themselves on the vermillion bird, and after a rather long pause, Suzaku bows her head and says "alright then. Just remember to keep your thoughts to yourself."

Shinki immediately smiles and nods, then Suzaku takes flight to the front of the shrine, but before she's past the living quarters, she dives down, and her dive is promptly accompanied by Marisa's scream of pain.

Shinki giggles at the sight, takes a deep breath, mentally prepares herself for her conversation with Rika, turns around, then screams when she realizes Rika is on the door, looking curiously at her.

The goddess starts breathing with effort, placing a hand on her chest after such scare, while Rika panics and holds Shinki's shoulder, desperately saying "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you like that! Are you ok?"

* * *

It doesn't take long for Shinki to recover herself, but Rika still sounds worried when asking "are you really alright, miss Shinki? Are you sure you don't need anything to drink?"

The girls are sitting beside each other over at the large lake behind the shrine with their legs picked up, so as not to get wet by the water, surrounded by soothing nature; bushy trees, soft wind, the music of nature, and the water surface is so clean, it glistens with the tiniest bit of light that may reflect on it.

Taking a deep breath, as though drinking from the soothing essence that rules this place, Shinki smiles again, as she always does, then looks at Rika and says "yes. Sorry about screaming in your face like that. I really wasn't expecting you there."

Rika looks down at the grass beside her legs and says "I'm sorry. I should have given you some warning."

Shinki's face turns a little more serious when she looks at Rika once more, grabs her chin with her left hand, and lifts her head so as to make eye contact.

With a strict, but motherly tone, she says "you are not at fault here, sweetie. Please don't be saddened over my own blunders. Now..."

She releases Rika's chin and turns away from Rika's slightly confused face, then says "I was wondering, Rika-san, after all that happened out here... how are you feeling?"

Rika smiles brightly, and quickly replies "I'm fine.", but Shinki is not satisfied with this answer.

The Makaian goddess turns a warm, but stern face at Rika, then says "Rika-ch... san, that man... he caused you a great deal of pain; you lost your temper several times because of him, and to my knowledge, a feat like that is nearly impossible. You are a kind and gentle soul, and that mad-man may have brought the worst in you to the surface. Rika, how are you feeling?"

Rika never breaks her eye contact with Shinki, and the more she listens to her, the more she feels as though she's talking to her own mother.

After listening intently to Shinki's words, she thinks for a moment, remembering the many times her mistress Reimu was in danger because of the man in the white cowboy hat, moments when all she wanted was to cut HIM to shreds and be over with it, a time when that same man threatened a child, that thought alone makes her heart ache as though rough wooden thorns are nailing themselves to it with every beat.

After recovering from her own, very fresh memories, Rika looks into Shinki's eyes with longing, the corners of her mouth drop as though carrying lead, then says "I can't remember his name anymore, but I still remember the grief he caused me. It still hurts, but thankfully, knowing that he is long gone relieves my heart, and I can feel it... healing. It's taking it's time, but-"

Unable to control herself, Shinki instinctively grabs Rika by her torso and wraps her arms around her, squeezing the shrine maid against herself and rubbing her back the same way a loving mother would do to comfort her hurt child.

Rika feels scared at first, but quickly winds down to simple embarrassment, and before she knows it, she feels as though she's in her mother's embrace, safe from all harm, all the pains of the world outside that hug unable to penetrate the warm light emanating from them; she closes her eyes, then returns the embrace with a lighter embrace of her own.

Shinki suddenly realizes what she did, but she doesn't care. To her, this child deserves this, she has earned this comfort, but even she knows all good things must end so as not to turn them stale and useless.

She gently pushes Rika away, and the maid doesn't seem to mind, and when Shinki looks at the relief in Rika's eyes, she can't help but smile as she says "I'm sorry. I... I don't know what came over me."

Rika blushes with embarrassment, realizing how she returned that hug with little hesitation, then turns to face down at the lake water, then says "I apologize. It's just, you... I mean... that is..."

The awkward moment is immediately brought to an abrupt stop when a black blur jumps on Shinki, shouting "MAMAAAA!", accompanied by a loud "omph" from Shinki herself.

Kneeling on top of Shinki, with her knees on Shinki's lap, and her hands on Shinki's arms, is a girl with short blonde hair and yellow eyes, wearing a black hat with a white ribbon, a black sleeveless jacket over a short-sleeved white shirt, a long black skirt that reaches to her ankles, white socks, and black shoes.

The girl could easily make a good Marisa double, but no world is ready for two Marisas, so it's a good thing she isn't.

* * *

Shinki blinks twice while looking at the girl's eyes, then scowls while smiling, then, in an ominously sweet voice, she asks "Yuki..., my dear, dear Yuki, how many times have I told you it's rude to jump on your mother, or anybody else, in that manner?"

The hyper, eager, happy face Yuki had disappears as soon as Shinki reaches into her right pocket, then the blonde girl jumps away from Shinki and crawls behind Rika for cover, then nervously screams "maa! I'm sorry, I'm sorry! Please, not the pink charm!"

Confused in the matter, Rika blinks twice, then asks "um, did something happen?"

Shinki stands up, looking a little upset, but sounds calm as she says "it's alright. Anyway, I am sure Yuki has something very important to tell me if she came all the way out here looking for me."

With tears dangling under her now white-dot-eyes, Yuki trembles violently while hiding behind Rika, so the maid grabs the girl and sits her on her own lap, takes off Yuki's hat, then starts patting her head to calm her down.

In a soothing tone of voice, Rika says "come on miss Yuki, don't make your mother angry."

Yuki has calmed down to the point that she actually forgets she was scared of just a second ago, feeling Rika's hand as it brushes her head makes her feel safe, comfortable, and infinitely confused.

When she realizes what is going on, she blushes, spring up on her feet, and feeling incredibly embarrassed, she takes her own hat and pushes it hard on her head to try and cover her face, and says "um, th-thanks miss Ri-Um, mom, Yumeko and the guys want to show you something. W-we would like for you to come back home, i-if it's alright."

Shiki looks with confusion at her somewhat hyper daughter, then looks at Rika, as if asking for permission to go, then Rika giggles and says "this seems very important miss Shinki. Maybe you should go there."

Yuki nods in assent, and Shinki simply sighs long, recovers her usual smile, then says "alright, my child, let's go home. Um, miss Rika, are you going to be alright?"

Rika smiles back with her own natural smile, flaps her little wings, then says "thanks for your concern. I am truly grateful, but I am fine, really."

Shinki smiles, nods, then says "alright. Then I'll see you next time, ok? Come Yuki, sweetie. Let's go back home."

Yuki grins widely, taps Rika's shoulder, then says "thanks sis, you saved me from one bad scolding. I owe ya one.", then takes off to the air after Shinki.

Rika waves goodbye along with Shinki and Yuki, and once they are out of sight, she takes a deep breath and says "phew, that was a little embarrassing, but... so warm."

Genjii, the large bearded flying turtle, splashes out from under the water, startles Rika to the point of having her hair standing on its edges, then says "I'll say. Just like when Reimu used to give me those hugs of hers. Oh, how I miss those."

Still startled, Rika looks at the giant turtle, and nods her violently-shaking head.

* * *

Makai, Shinki's home, a world where the density would drive a weak-minded human or anything, insane.

The place has a certain beauty to it, but it is still a world of demons, and to come here unprepared, both spiritually, and physically, can be costly; you could end up depressed for the rest of your life, become a murderous lunatic, become unable to differentiate ally from enemy, or cause you an obsession with death.

Because of the dark nature of this world, light shines even brighter in here; ironic, when you think of this place as being 'hell'.

At the entrance of this world, which is a large swirling gate that looks like it has outer space inside of it, there is a beautiful, yet bleak patch of foliage, where some of the smaller demons reside, some tasking themselves with repelling would-be intruders.

Further forth is a large forest erected by Shinki herself, and with the help of Ail, they made that forest fertile and bright enough to give edible fruits, edible for both demons and non-demons.

Even further ahead is the newly rebuilt city, called simply 'The City of Makai'.

To the left of that forest is another bleak patch of land that seems to extend rather far, reaching the dark and fiery wasteland that is known as Hokkai, that dreaded place where Byakuren Hijiri was once sealed.

To the right of the fertile forest is another wasteland, however, foliage and bits of grass sprout here and there around the many dried rocks and seemingly barren soil.

Further ahead from the city, resting right-side of a dirt-road, is a massive lake, which is filled with creatures unimaginable, some ridiculously large, others as small as dumplings, and most are quite dangerous to anyone, though not to Shinki.

Resting to the north of the lake is one large castle adorned in the shape of various massive crystal stalagmites, though it has funny round and oval shapes on the many tips, possibly Shinki's request to keep her many children safe from cutting themselves on those.

The castle is called Pandemonium, and it's where Shinki, and a few of her children live, Yumeko, her maid, included amongst them.

Looking at her home from the sky, Shinki smiles, then looks to her right at Yuki and asks "so why did you summon me back? Everything seems to be alright."

Yuki grins widely and lifts her left hand with the peace sign, then says "you'll love it, mom!"

Shiki stare back at Yuki with a neutral expression, takes a deep breath, then follows her daughter into the city.

* * *

The City of Makai; once a destroyed and forgotten place, thanks to an unavoidable event where Shinki lost her control, now is a large and magnificent cement jungle full of beings to many different shapes and sizes.

Some look like humans with what WE would call deformities; with eyes out of place, or with just one eye, or having ridiculously long necks, turtle shells on their back, colored skins, with horns, and even some the size of children, but bearing large claws instead of fingers.

The rest do look more human-like, save for wings of all types sprouting from their heads and backs, and some having small black tails.

The city itself is a sight to behold.

The south entrance has various tall buildings that serve as homes for a few of the Makaians, the east is one large market place, where you can find anything you may want, except for a better TV reception, and actual caring service.

The west side is littered with random buildings for offices, arcades, restaurants, and a _nursery_, though don't be fooled, that nursery is something more lewd... but I'm not going into details there.

The north of the city might as well be something else on its own.

It's a completely out-of-place natural suburb, with small houses made from wood, the dirt, unpaved roads have formed because of so much use, trees spring out of place all over, but regardless of how it may look, the Makaians are happy with it, so who's to argue with them.

The very center of the city is one massive courtyard, adorned with cobblestone floors that, when looked upon from the sky, draw circles with triangles inside, which happen to have squares inside of them, and on the very center, there is a large cloth made from countless cloths that have been hurriedly sewn together, covering what looks like a large five-story statue.

Shinki's eyes lock on the large cloth, and with a worried and suspicious look on her face, she asks "Yuki, you kids didn't build another doomsday rocket... r-right?"

Yuki sweats and nervously says "oi, oi, oi, mom... Really, we promised never to speak of that fiasco again."

Shinki manages a very nervous smile as she chuckles and whispers "so much cake mix..."

Yuki chuckles loudly, then says "anyway mom, this is something I am SURE you will love! Come, lets land at that red platform."

Shinki looks down at the mentionend stand, set next to the covered... thing, then notices her name written there in bright white.

As she descends, she notices almost all her children have gathered around the cloth, and are all smiling back at her, and sounding moved, she says "oh, such beautiful smiles. What could all of this be, I wonder."

Yuki simply smiles as she helps her mother land exactly on the center of the stand. Once Shinki lands on that platform, Yuki fills her lungs with air, cups her hands around her mouth, then screams so loud "HEY SHE'S HERE, YOU STUPID DORKS", even Shinki has to cover her ears in fear she might lose her hearing.

There is a flash of light, and now Yuki lies on her stomach with a pained smile on her face, and a short sword stuck on her butt.

Yumeko stands just below the stand, dusting her hand with a look of scorn on her face, then says "yes, yes, we know. No need to be screaming like a raging banshee."

Shinki giggles nervously, then whispers "Yumeko, I think you went a little hard on her."

Ignoring Shinki, Yumeko smiles and loudly says "lady Shinki, in honor to you, and to show how much we care about you, we have built this for you...", then points her hands to the air at the large cloth-thing.

A green demon with green claws and wings for a body, a girl with short black hair, and wearing a long blood-red rag, that somewhat resembles Patchouli's own Koakuma in looks, and Mai, the snow witch with short light-blue wavy hair tied to a small ponytail with a red ribbon, light-blue eyes, small pink angel wings, and wearing a light-pink dress tied under her breasts with a red string, pull on three parts of the scary cloth.

Shinki looks up at the revealed structure with dread in her eyes, a gloomy shadow on her forehead, and a wriggled-lipped smile she's trying to maintain with all her godly might... but failing miserably at it.

Under the large, scary cloth is a massive statue of Shinki with a cold and stern look on her face, revealing her six pointy wings, and holding a strange pose, where she's placing her left hand on her waist, and pointing up at the sky with her right hand.

Shinki stammers at the sight, and thinking her mother is so happy, she's speechless, Yumeko's cheeks turn pink as she giggles, then says "you haven't seen anything yet. Look at THIS!"

Yumeko reveals a thick black remote with various colored buttons, then presses a red button.

Immediately after doing that, fire start bursting out of the statue's right fingertip, all six wing tips, the top of the head, and out the nose.

Shinki's face turns pale at the sight, she starts to shiver, then looks down at her children, all with eager, happy faces, waiting for their mother's reaction.

Shinki looks up at the flaming statue, then desperately thinks "oh dear goodness, this thing is horrifying! Ah, but I can't tell this to them! I'll break their fragile little hearts! I mean, they built this for me, but... it's so horrible! Oh, what to do, what should I say?"

Nervously, Yumeko looks up at Shinki, then asks "s-so, um... what do you think?"

Shinki looks back at her children with tears gangling from her white-disk eyes, nods a trembling head, and in an unconvincing nervous and disgusted tone of voice, she says "i-it's very... pretty. Th-th-thank you, my babies..."

The Makaians all cheer with excitement, while others cry out of joy, thinking their mother loved their questionable gift, when in truth, she would like nothing more than to have it torn down and turned to dust, then have the memory of it torn down and turned to dust... but she refuses to break their spirits, so she just waves and smiles, when she really wants to run away and hide.

* * *

And so, for three days, that's exactly what the goddess from Makai does, leaving as early in the morning as she possibly can to visit Rika, and returning as late in the night as she can, so as to avoid looking at that eye-sore of a statue.

The third morning, during her quiet escape from home, she glances at the statue, sweats with fear, then thinks "how can something made out of love be so frightening?"

As she asks this in her mind, the statue bursts a flare through its nose, making Shinki shiver and quicken her pace.

Unaware of what's behind her, the demonic goddess is being followed by five cloaked figures which said cloaks seem to blend with the bleak sky, making it almost impossible to be detected.

Being who she is, Shinki can still feel something is not right, so the figures constantly stop their chase and wait until Shinki is far away before resuming going after her.

They follow her trail all the way to Gensokyo; more exactly, the Hakurei Shrine's back entrance.

The five figures hide themselves behind the trees on the far back of the shrine, beside the storage house, making damned sure Shinki's not on to them, and finally, after the sun begin to rise in paradise, they notice the goddess perk up, then stand up to dust her seat and straighten her dress.

The kitchen doors slide open, and from inside, Rika smiles and says "miss Shinki, good morning."

Shinki chuckles and asks "good morning, Rika-san. Did you sleep well?"

The cloaked person that seems to be the leader snarls as Rika replies "well of course. My, you've been visiting so much lately. My lady and I are so honored by your devotion to the shrine."

Shinki giggles nervously, then says "um, no, no, it's not... well, never mind. I'm just feeling a little more comfortable here these days."

The cloaked leader roars softly and pulls the cloak off, revealing one rather enraged Pandemonium maid, Yumeko.

After the roar, Rika unsheathes her sword and calls "who's out there? Show yourself! I can feel you hiding behind the trees!"

Shinki smiles with a sweat drop hanging on her forehead, and says "oh my, maybe it's someone from Makai. Come on out darling, don't be shy!"

Yumeko looks behind herself, then the other three cloaked people turn to stare at the one cloaked person right behind Yumeko, making him sweat and look around nervously.

From the courtyard, Rika bravely gets closer to the trees to the right of the storage house and calls "come on out already! I promise not to harm you if you reveal yourself."

From between the trees, Yuki flies right out and straight toward Rika with her hood down, screaming with fright and with tears hanging under her eyes.

The shrine maid skillfully sheathes her sword and catches Yuki without harming the fire witch, all in half a second.

Looking quite confused and surprised, Rika helps the girl up on her feet and asks "Yuki, what were you doing? I almost cut you to pieces there!"

Shinki approaches the girls, then asks "Yuki, why are you jumping on people again?"

Agitated, Yuki tries to hide behind Rika while saying "wait, wait! It was Yumeko and Mai! I swear, they tossed me over here, hell knows why!"

Shinki tilts her head slightly to the right and places her hands on her hips while keeping her eyes on Yuki.

The with desperately calls "c-come on, you gotta believe me! Yumeko, Mai, Luize, Sara, come on out! C-Come on, mom's going to punish me for not doing something I'd normally do myself, but I really didn't do!"

The rustling of the trees and a soft whoosh from the wind is the only reply for the clearly frightened girl, but to her luck, Rika wraps an arm around her shoulders, places Yuki besides herself, then looks straight at Shinki and says "come on miss Shinki, she's sorry for what she did, and I don't mind, really."

Shinki stares back at Rika and Yuki for a few seconds, then suddenly smiles and says "alright. Yuki, you be thankful to miss Rika-san for not cutting you to shreds, apologize to her immediately, and I'll spare you the punishment."

Yuki smiles as grateful tears fill her eyes, then nods rapidly, causing the jewel on Rika's sword to glow bright blue.

* * *

In the small patch of land at the entrance to Makai, Yumeko jumps straight out of the gate and punches an innocent tree so hard, she makes a hole right through it, then snarls and growls while repeatedly stomping her left foot on the ground.

Mai, Luize and Sara follow after Yumeko, all with their hoods down, and right after touching the ground, Mai storms over to Yumeko, grabs her by the shoulders, then shakes her up violently, shouting "you retard, I wanted to see more!"

Yumeko grabs Mai back, shakes her up, and shouts "there's no need for more, snow witch!"

Luize narrows her eyes, and sounding a little sinister, she says "that Rika woman must have put a spell on mother!"

Sara clicks her tongue, then adds "highly unlikely. Mom's not that weak! If she's doing that, then it's because she's-"

Yumeko abruptly cuts Sara off, saying "don't say it!", her face twisted with rage, her eyes burning with hatred, scaring her sisters enough to make them take a few steps back.

Yumeko stares at her sisters' faces and notices their fright, so out of actual consideration for them, she takes a deep breath to calm down, closes her eyes, and more calmly says "that girl is not one of us. She doesn't have the right to have mother to herself."

The four girls turn their heads toward the gate when a familiar girl's voice says "you're going about this the wrong way, you jealous little pricks."

Alice Margatroid stands with her back resting against the wall to the side of the large gate back to Gensokyo with her arms crossed under her chest, and a stern look on her face.

Sara takes a breath of relief and whispers "it's just Alice...", then loudly asks "and how would you handle this?"

Yumeko takes a step toward the puppeteer magician, then asks "how can you be so calm about this? Shinki is your mother too!"

Alice pushes herself off the wall and walks over to Yumeko, then says "that girl is a sweetheart, and the moment you touch her, mom's going to spank you with her iron mace... or did you forget about that?"

Yumeko's face turns blue when she remembers her sore butt, then asks "th-th-that was... so what should we do?"

Alice sighs, then says "just ask mom to stay. She loves you so much, if you just ask her, she won't leave again. Just don't go doing something so stupid again. Not that I like her, but if you attack that Rika, I will defend her."

Yumeko twitches, but remains silent as Alice continues "Shanghai and Hourai love her too much, and even though she almost killed my girls, she did stop... and she's not so bad. Look, just leave her alone, don't pick on her, go all lovey-dovey on mom, and you should be fine."

Alice turns around, leaving the girls speechless, but just before she enters the gate, she turn around and says "oh, and keep Yuki out of the loop. She's already on Rika's side too, and you know how she gets when she thinks she's right about something."

Alice walks right into the gate and vanishes in a blue flash, leaving the other four girls to their thoughts.

The left side of Yumeko's lip lifts up, a glint escapes her right eye, and with a malevolent look on her face, she says "alright then, I'll all be so damned lovey-dovey on mom, she'll be saying 'Rika-who' before she knows it!"

Sara and Mai notice the frightening look on Yumeko's face, while Luize seems to be lost in her own thoughts, thinking of ways to be 'lovey-dovey' with Shinki... and her flushed face is a good sign that she's doing it wrong.

* * *

Meanwhile, over at the Hakurei Shrine, Alice sits on the shrine's porch with Reimu to her left, Tenshi to her right, and Shanghai and Hourai on her lap.

They are all watching as Youmu and Rika have a no-spell cards sparring match.

Although she seems to be placing all her attention on the match, Alice's thoughts dwell on early morning, thinking "I wonder if I did the right thing? Ugh, I don't even know if I'd really side with Rika. Sure, Shanghai and Hourai love her, but..."

On the other side of the courtyard, sitting on a wooden bench, are Yuki, Shinki, and Mima, a vengeful '_evil_' spirit with long flowing green hair adorned with a blue wizard's hat that has a large white ribbon and a yellow sun, star and moon motif, green eyes, and wears a blue robe with white outlines, a large blue cape, and today she has a long blue skirt covering her normal, shoeless legs.

While Yuki and Mima cheer on the girls, Shinki places her full attention on Alice, noticing the distant look in the puppeteer's eyes.

In the center of the large courtyard, surrounded by a barrier, are Rika, who has her sword positioned defensively in front and across her face, and Suzaku, who is flying above Rika and her opponent.

Youmu Konpaku, the half-human half-ghost, has short silver hair adorned with a black bow, dark-blue eyes, wears a green vest with a ghost insignia over the right breast pocket, a short-sleeved white shirt underneath, a green skirt that has ghost insignias all around the lower borders of said skirt, a pair of black shoes, and has a large ghost following around herself wherever she may be.

Though Youmu looks fresh and ready for more, holding her short sword, Hakurouken, pointed at Rika, her clothes are torn and cut all over, while Rika only has a single cut on her skirt.

The girls eye each other without saying a word, then suddenly rush toward each other with swords raised.

Both swing sideways and clash their weapons together, sending light sparks flying all around, then Rika takes the chance and thrusts her blade forward, forcing Youmu to move her head slightly to the right to avoid the attack, but still has a few strand of hair cut off, though nothing to be alarmed about.

Youmu recovers and swings sideway up, forcing Rika to flip backward and raise her sword above her head defensively to block Youmu's jump attack.

Rika pushes the half-ghost away, rushes forward ahead of Youmu, then jumps with her sword aimed upward, but Youmu flips in mid-air and swings down hard, pushing Rika and her sword back down to the ground.

Rika rolls backward after touching the ground, while Youmu lands neatly on her feet, and immediately runs toward Rika for the attack.

Rika stops rolling and is in a bit of a daze, but manages to sweep her left leg over the floor just as Youmu is in range, making Youmu trip, then stands up and swing her sword in an arc down.

Youmu swings her sword up with enough force to deflect Rika's attack, and while Rika recovers from the push, Youmu takes the chance and kicks Rika's legs, making her tumble backward and fall on her seat.

Youmu flips back up, Rika elegantly pushes herself up on her feet by literally dancing with her hands on the floor, lifting her seat up, swinging her legs around until she is on her knees, then gets back up.

The girls look at each other once more, smile, then rush for the attack once more.

Both girls shout as they get closer to each other, holding their swords below and beside themselves, then rush through each other, swinging their blades in perfect synchronization, then stop several feet away from each other with their backs turned, holding their final stance.

Youmu is the first to straighten up, and with a smile on her face, she says "darn it, I still lack training...", then falls on her stomach to the ground.

Rika lowers her guard, sheathes her sword, turns around, smiles, then says "I won this ro-", but stops in mid-sentence and falls on her back with a goofy smile and swirly eyes.

Suzaku, though speaking through her mind, is heard by everyone present as she says "double knockout!"

Tenshi cups her hands over her mouth, booing at Suzaku and saying "cheat! That's a cheat! She stood longer!"

On the benches, Mima raises her left arm and cheers, while Yuki jumps on the bench and shouts "do it again! Do it again!"

Shinki looks up at Yuki, grabs her daughter by her skirt, pulls her back down, then says "sweetie, you have to calm down, alright."

Reimu walks over to the barrier, dispels it, walks over to, and stands between the fallen maid and half-ghost, then chuckles and says "you two should open a comedy act. That's the fifth draw already!"

Both Rika and Youmu moan as a reply, unable to get back on their feet out of exhaustion.

By now, Shinki has forgotten all about Alice's suspicious behavior, and smiles upon seeing her daughter cheering along Shanghai and Hourai.

* * *

Later that night, Shinki and Yuki return to Makai, and when they are flying over the suburbs, Yuki stops and says "take care, mom. I'm sleeping at home tonight."

Shinki giggles, nods, then says "don't go burning hay again like you did last time."

Yuki grins and flies down, shouting "that was just an experiment!"

Shinki watches her daughter enter through her own house's left window, then slowly shakes her head and asks herself "that Yuki. I wonder what's going on inside that mind of hers?"

She takes off toward Pandemonium, saying to herself "well, it's not like I want to try reading her mind again. Brrr, took me an hour to get back out."

Reaching her home, Shinki enters through the large gate on the front, and quickly feels something is wrong.

She looks around suspiciously, but shrugs it off and walks further inside.

After walking through a long glass corridor with three more corridors connecting to it from the left, possibly leading to other rooms or whatnot, Shinki arrives at the main hall, expecting to find an answer as to why she feels something is still out of place.

As expected of the main hall, it's adorned with various plants with beautiful purple flowers in hanging pots, though upon closer inspection, these tiny purple flowers have small but sharp jagged teeth, and their vines are like arms they use to catch their prey.

On the floor there is a long red carpet that ends just before the windowed wall in front of it, and at the other end of this carpet are a set of steps with a large glass chair on the top platform that looks like a throne, and to the left and right of this carpet are smaller chairs, bookshelves, and large wooden desks that seem out of place.

Above it all is a grand chandelier that holds about a hundred candles, though only a few are lit, giving the room a rather grim essence.

Shinki looks around the room, then calls "Yumekooo! Yumeko, where are you?"

Instead of Yumeko, Shinki is greeted by three fairy maids, that unlike Gensokyo's fairies, have gray skin and blood-red eyes.

The middle one has blonde wavy hair, the one to the left has long black hair tied to a ponytail, and the one behind them to the right, has blood-red short hair adorned with a single black pin to the left, and all three wear black maid uniforms.

Shinki stares at the fairies, but before she asks, the blonde fairy says "lady Shinki, we are sorry to inform you that miss Yumeko hasn't been feeling too well."

The black haired fairy adds "she's been locked up in her room and day, and refuses to open the door."

Sounding uninterested in the matter, the red haired fairy looks to her right, pouts, and says "she... I think I heard her crying. Well, whatever. She shot me with those swords of hers before I could even ask. Lucky there's a door!"

Shinki looks at the three fairies, one-by-one, then rushes straight toward the next door to the right of the main hall.

The fairies frown and look down to the ground, seemingly sobbing, but when Shinki closes the door, the three fairies smile, then the blond fairy says "she fell for it."

The red fairy chuckles, then says "Yumeko's plan is working great after all."

Meanwhile, Shinki flies over the next corridor, taking an immediate left, then a sudden right, then stops in front of a black door.

She knocks on it three times and calls "Yumeko, sweetie, it's Shinki! Open up!"

Silence rules for over a few seconds or so before the sounds of footsteps from the other side get closer to the door, followed by a click, then the door slowly opens.

Yumeko stands next to the door, and is wearing a long purple rag over herself, and Shinki gasps at the sight of her daughter's red puffy eyes, tear-covered cheeks, messy unkempt hair, and empty look on the maid's face.

Shinki excitedly asks "Yumeko, what happened? Did someone hurt you?"

She grabs Yumeko's face to get a better look, then quickly helps the maid over to her bed, asking "my poor dear, what's the matter? Please, say something!"

After sitting on her bed, Yumeko looks away, sniffles, then asks "why does mom avoid me? H-have I been bad to her? Why does she hate me?"

Shinki gasps, grabs Yumeko's shoulders, forces the maid to look at her, then embraces Yumeko on impulse, saying "I'd never hate you! Whatever gave you such a foolish idea?"

Yumeko sniffles and tries to smile, her plan is working better than she expected, she should be happy, but having her mother embrace her has awoken that sadness that's been filling her whenever she thinks Shinki loves Rika more than her, and unable to stop herself, Yumeko starts to cry out loud.

Shinki opens her eyes wide, rage slowly boiling from the pit of her stomach up to the crown of her head, and trying to sound as calm as she can, the goddess asks "Yumeko, my child, who the hell made you cry like this? Who filled your head with such ideas? You tell me right now and I'll-"

Before Shinki can finish her sentence, Yumeko lets out a loud sob, and through a cracking voice, she asks "why haven't I seen you these days? What did I do to you? Please, don't leave me mom! I want to see you, be with you, but if you are gone..."

Shinki's body tenses up, she realizes now what has Yumeko so upset.

She closes her eyes and spreads her consciousness over the city, then gasps and thinks "how could I be so blind as to not notice my own children's suffering over my absence? Every single one of them is so upset... even Yuki seems to be missing me. Kind of odd, seeing as she's been with me, but still..."

Through her cracking voice, like a desperate child, Yumeko cries "don't go mama! S-stay with me! Please, stay home!"

Without her realizing it, Shinki has her hand over Yumeko's head and is gently brushing her hair with her fingers, feeling as though Yumeko is her little baby girl once more, and she's comforting her child after she woke up from a bad dream.

Quickly returning from her memories, Shinki closes her eyes, kisses the left temple of Yumeko's head, then whispers "don't worry my child, I'll stay home with you. There, there, let all those tears flow. Mama will take them all, just like she did before."

Yumeko's emotions overwhelm her again and she starts to cry again, only this time is out of happiness, and after a sob, she whimpers "thank you mom... Thank you."

Her plan has worked, Shinki has promised to stay home, at least for one day... probably.

Now, Yumeko must find a way to make her forget about Rika, but for now, all she wants is to enjoy this warm moment with her goddess and mother, though it doesn't last long.

Before Yumeko realizes it, she has relaxed considerably, and has fallen asleep on Shinki's hug, but that doesn't stop Shinki from holding her child in her arms a little longer.

* * *

The next morning, Yumeko wakes up alone on her bed, and realizes it's quite late.

Well, for HER it's actually late, but for most of us, waking up at six in the morning is a task.

She gasps with fright when she realizes Shinki is nowhere in sight, so she spring out of bed and runs straight to the great hall in her small, silky-white pajamas, skidding on her feet when turning each corner.

She reaches the main hall, bursts through the door, then desperately calls "lady Shinki?"

From the large seat at the back of the room, Shinki's sweet voice calms the agitated, and almost naked maid when she says "oh my, Yumeko, calm down. I'm here, child."

Yumeko looks at Shinki, sitting on the large seat with a cup of tea on her right hand, and an ice-melting motherly smile on her face.

The maid smiles back, sighs with relief, then says "lady Shinki, good morning. P-please forgive me, I overslept."

Shinki giggles, narrows her left eye, then says "Yumeko, my sweet child, calm down already. It's alright, it's not like your mother can't cook by herself. Breakfast is ready, so after you change into something more appropriate, you may dig in."

Yumeko stares back at Shinki, smiling the same way she did back when she was younger, then her smile turns into a frown when she realizes the dim light from the window is making her pajamas seem almost transparent.

Yumeko's face turns beet red, she scrunches up and crosses her arms over her chest, chuckles nervously, then says "umm, I'll go change. F-forgive me, I shouldn't have shown you such indecent sight."

With an angelic smile on her face, her always-standing strand of hair standing on its tip this time, and a bit of blood dripping down her left nostril, Shinki says "oh please, don't be sorry. I'm not offended in the slightest."

* * *

In Gensokyo, at the Hakurei Shrine, a girl with long red hair, red eyes, bat wings on her head and back, and wearing a black suit vest over a long-sleeved white shirt, a long black skirt, short white socks and black shoes, flies over to the front entrance to the main shrine, holding on to a book with blue covers, looking a little bit lost, but determined to find what she's looking for.

The girl takes a deep breath, but only a peep escapes her mouth, so she takes another deep breath and calls "R-Rika-onee-chan? A-are you there?"

The girl nervously looks around as she asks herself "w-was this really the place? Oh, I should have come with Patchouli-sama last time... if this is the right shrine, I mean."

From the back of the shrine's living quarters, Rika's sweet voice seems to dance along with the wind as she calls back "hello, is someone there?"

The little girl relaxes upon hearing the voice, and almost immediately spots Rika peeking her head from beside the larger building.

The little girl rushes over to Rika and wraps her arms around the maid's waist, excitedly saying "yes! I did it! This is the place! Thank goodness, Rika-onee-chan, I didn't get lost!"

Rika looks a bit surprised at first, but quickly recovers and pats the girl on the head, saying "Koakuma, little sis, what are you doing here?"

Koakuma releases Rika, looks up at her and smiles, presents the book, then says "Patchouli-sama was thinking of returning this book to you soon, but she didn't, so I picked it up myself when I learned it was yours and came over to bring it back. Patchouli-sama was against it, but she's not my boss, so I came anyway. Um, err, wait."

Rika smiles nervously and is about to state the obvious fact that she and Patchouli have a contract, but Koakuma quickly says "well, I can think for myself anyway, it's not like she completely owns me."

Rika giggles, accepts the book, and while rubbing the crown of Koakuma's head, she says "you are a naughty little sister, but I guess there's no actual harm done. Oh?"

Rika notices Koakuma's head wings are flapping like crazy, her cheeks are pink, she's cupping both hands together over her chest, and is now pushing her head up so that Rika's hand stays firmly in place.

Rika giggles and continues scratching Koakuma's head, and says "he-he-heh, I guess you can be a good girl when you want to."

Koakuma starts enjoying herself so much, she start to whimper contently, and doesn't care she can't control herself, then she suddenly feels a nasty shock on the back of her head, twitches, then frowns and straightens up.

Surprised, Rika asks "Koa-chan, what happened?"

Koakuma pouts as she looks at Rika and says "she's summoning me back. I'm sorry onee-chan, but I have to go now."

Rika smiles and chuckles, then says "thank you for returning my book, little sister.", then bends down and kisses the little demon's cheeks, making her yelp, then melt down with a blushing face and a goofy wriggled smile.

Feeling elated, Koakuma takes flight, and is unaware that she is doing so without flapping her back wings.

She turns her torso, waves at Rika, and dizzily says "th-thank you, Rika-onee-chan... P-please come and... and visit... tee-hee-hee."

Rika stares at Koakuma with a bit of worry in her eyes, then asks herself "I wonder if she'll be alright?"

* * *

Later that day, Rika finishes serving breakfast; an omelet with various vegetables mixed in with the eggs, a bowl of rice, strangely glowing meat buns, and of course, tea.

She giggles to herself after setting the food on the table, then says to herself "that book had that recipe I wanted to try out. I'm so glad Koa-chan brought it back. I'm sure my lady will love it."

Reimu walks out of the corridor, already dressed, combed, and quite alert, and when she lays eyes on the glowing meat bun, she smiles and asks "breakfast with a bang?"

Rika smiles, points a finger to the ceiling, then says "a bang of flavor, my lady. Please, try it out and let me know how you like it."

From her perch in front of the rooms corridor, Suzaku whistles excitedly and telepathically exclaims "this is so good! It's like eating dango, only, I'm not! Yumm~!", then pecks a bite out of the meat bun on her right claw.

Reimu stares at the vermillion bird for a moment, shrugs, grabs her own meat bun, then says "oh well, thank you for this meal!"

She takes a quick bite off the bun, and immediately squeals contently as the sweet flavor of sweet dumplings dance harmoniously with the soft texture of the bun.

After she swallows, Reimu cries as she exclaims "this is amazing! Tastes like the sweetest dumplings in existence! I-it's perfect!"

Before she takes the next bite, Reimu turns her eyes over to Rika over at the kitchen, then turns her head as she asks "Rika, where are you going?"

Over in the kitchen, Rika places six of those meat buns inside a black basket she has lined with a blue and white checkered cloth, then leaves three more out on a tray.

She turns to her mistress and smiles as she says "these are very special. I use a bit of magic for the glow and taste. You see, with the spell on this book, I can make some foods taste like the individual's favorite food."

Reimu stares back with a neutral face, then says "that's all good and stuff, but..."

Rika giggles, making her wings flutter, and Reimu blush, then says "I'm sorry my lady. I'm going to take these over to miss Shinki. She didn't come today, so, with your permission, I'd like to deliver these to her myself."

Reimu recovers her natural face immediately, then looking a bit confused, she says "a-alright, you can go. Just don't linger there for too long. Come straight back once you are done."

Rika nods with a smile, then Reimu points at the three glowing meat buns on the tray, then Rika quickly says "oh, those are for Tenshi, miss Marisa, and unless you'd like another helping, then the third one goes to whomever you may wish, my lady."

Reimu smiles very naturally, a smile Rika simply loves laying eyes on, then asks "before you go, what do these meat buns taste like to you?"

The question his Rika hard, her cheeks turn a bit reddish, she places both hands on her cheeks, she flutters her wings very rapidly, then smiles sweetly and contently as she says "m-my lady's peach pies, of course! Nothing else compares to the taste of those delectable treats!"

Rika's smile quickly vanishes when she notices Reimu and Suzaku both have blood dripping from their left nostrils, then panics and asks "my-my lady, Suzu-chan, what's wrong? Are you alright?"

Both girl and bird nod slowly at the same time, and Reimu smiles as she says "oh, everything is PERFECT, no doubt about that."

* * *

Meanwhile, at the study room over at Pandemonium in Makai, which sits at the end of the second corridor to the left of the entrance corridor, Yumeko, Luize, Mai and Shinki are having a quiet study time together, although Yumeko is there mostly to make sure Shinki doesn't need anything from her, so she's really paying no real attention to her book... not even the cover, which reads "How to please her when she's cold."

Mai and Luize glance over to Yumeko's book and quietly chuckle among themselves, having a quite un-ladylike conversation through whispers.

Although this study is quite impressive, it lacks many, many more books before it can even compare to the Scarlet Devil Mansion's own library.

Meanwhile, two bookshelves over to the left, Sara and Yuki are quietly looking over a single book and drawing magical runes on an old piece of paper spread out on the ground.

Yuki is about to draw one last rune, when very suddenly, Shinki gasps and exclaims "oh dear, Rika just came through the gate."

Saying this triggers and inexplicable surge of hatred inside Sara, Mai, Luize, and especially Yumeko, whose eyes are widely open, her iris are the size of a single dot, and she fails to hide the murderous intent she's feeling at the moment.

Before Shinki even gets up from her seat, the other girls stand up, and Yumeko says "mother, allow us the honor of greeting her for you. Please, wait here."

As the girls exit the room, Shiki says "be gentle with her. She's not like Reimu after all."

Yuki springs right out of hiding, and goes after her sisters, shouting "yay, Rika's here! Maybe she can help me with this pink-negating spell!"

The door closes shut, Shinki looks around the solitary room, then says to herself "no wonder she was so quiet."

* * *

While Yumeko leads the party of girls to 'meet' with Rika, she loudly says "that bitch! How dare she? After all we had to do to get mother back, she comes to steal her away! We'll show her, right girls?"

The other girls cheer, then Yumeko asks "and what about Yuki?"

Mai holds on to the unconscious Yuki by her waist, looking quite agitated while saying "the idiot's taken care of. She won't get in the way."

Yumeko looks forward and says "I'm sorry Yuki, but you let what little brain you have in there be washed by that... thing!"

As they overfly the city, Yumeko stops, looks at the terrifying statue of their mother, which they still think is magnificent, then sneers as she says "wait, girls, I have a plan."

The other four girls stare at Yumeko's back, then follow after the maid as she descends down the city streets.

Meanwhile, holding on to the black basket, its contents covered with the blue and white checkered cloth, Rika flies over the forest raised by Shinki and Ail, takes a deep breath, then says "well, this place isn't as bad as miss Reimu said. Wait, I better keep my guard up. Makai might be waiting for me to lower my guard, and... a-hah, I knew it."

Just as she readies herself for an ambush, dark-skinned fairies, one-eyed blue bats, and green-winged eyeballs rise from beneath the trees and start shooting at the maid furiously.

Rika smiles, then says "alright, I rarely use my own bullets, so this is going to be a bit of practice for me."

After finishing her sentence, Rika lifts her right arm, and form it, yellow and pink petal-shaped bullets fly in a spread formation in front of Rika, making eight straight lines that seem to fan out the farther they fly, and while dodging the daggers, bullets and curses the tiny creatures shoot at her, she knocks down most, if not all of the creatures, repeating "I'm sorry, I'm just defending myself. Please move. Sorry again."

She mows through the little creatures with such ease, it's the little beings, aren't even putting any effort at all, then very suddenly, the few remaining creatures dive back down to hide in the trees, then Rika says to herself "oh, miss Reimu told me about this. Someone big is coming this way."

Sure enough, a large bald and muscular ogre with red skin, covering himself with a simple brown cloth around his waist, bearing large claws and talons, and holding on to a massive mallet, flies straight at Rika, already raising his weapon high above his head.

Rika smiles confidently, carefully times her movement, then moves left at the very last second, making the ogre drop his mallet down to the forest after missing her.

The ogre roars furiously, then shouts "I'll get you yet!", and starts shooting rather powerful red beams from his fingertips at Rika.

The shrine maid sways through each beam with some effort, especially when the monster starts wiggling his fingers around, but she manages to keep away from harm and get close to him.

She smirks, raises both hands, letting the basket hang from her left arm, then says "I'm really sorry about this sir, but I need to get these to miss Shinki."

The monster roars furiously, then shouts "you're not taking mother away!"

Rika narrows her right eye, but focuses her energy on her hands and shoots a powerful pink beam that hits the ogre on the stomach so hard, it knocks the air right out of his body, and just after a few seconds, the monster explodes and falls straight down to the forest, making a loud thud upon hitting the ground.

Rika stops and looks down at the creature, his red skin visible through the many gaps between the trees' leaves, then says to herself "take his mother? Maybe he confused me with someone else. Heh-heh, there's no way I'm taking Shinki with me."

Giggling at the thought, Rika flies away toward the city.

* * *

Reaching the City of Makai, Rika realizes she is lost, so she decides to walk through in order to find if someone would be willing to help her, but that idea is already taking a huge step backward.

The city is eerily empty, currently populated only by whooshing gusts of wind, and flying pieces of paper that rip right off the walls.

As she walks through, she shyly calls "he-hello? I-is anybody here? I-I'm looking for Pandemonium."

As expected, there is no answer, so Rika decides to lift off the ground and fly a few inches above the ground, hoping to attract someone's attention, or just speed her way through the city.

Big mistake.

Now there are bullets coming at her out of nowhere, and she has little room to dodge in, but all she cares about is protecting her basket and its content from harm, so she uses her own body as a shield from the bullets.

Lucky for her, the bullets aren't really that strong, or she'd be in trouble.

She stops flying and runs through a narrow street between two large five-story buildings, then the bullets just stop.

Rika is still running, her heart racing, a chill taking over her limbs, but she's determined to take that basket to Shinki, so she pushes on.

Panting heavily, Rika rushes toward the center of the city, thinking "good, the shooting stopped, and there's open air ahead. I can take off once I'm there and look for Pandemonium myself."

Rika suddenly skids to a stop, then jumps back, avoiding a rain of bullets and explosive kunai that explode right in front of her feet.

Squinting her eyes, Rika focuses on a large mass in front of her, then looks up at the large statue of Shinki, which is spewing dark fire from its nose and wing-tips without stop.

She gasps with surprise at the sight, takes two steps back, then looks back down to the mass of Makaians in front of her when Yumeko says "well, well, if it isn't the little thief! Come to steal our mother, did you? Well, YOU CAN'T HAVE HER!"

Rika looks over at Yumeko, Mai, Luize and Sara, and notices they, and all the other Makaians behind them are concentrating their magic in their hands, and all seem to be ready to draw blood.

Meanwhile, Shinki flies out of Pandemonium, saying to herself "I know Yumeko said she'd greet Rika, but I think it'd be better if I go and greet her myself. He-he, they'll be surprised for sure."

She grins mischievously, then says "I might even embarrass Yumeko in front of Rika with a cheeky-kiss. U-fu-fu, I can't wait."

* * *

To be continued...

Characters, Spell Cards and Scenarios belong to ZUN -Team Shanghai Alice-

Ail was created by Willie G.R.

Rika Onkamikami and Suzaku the Vermillion bird was created by Snapshot 2010

JAN 11 2011

Original Story by Snapshot 2010

Written by

Willie G.R.

* * *

**A/N:**

**Alright, this story is another of Snapshot's intended arcs for Rika's past, and like last time, it's going to be fully written by me, following his guidelines. As such, this entire first chapter was my own doing, but the next will follow said guidelines. Now, I was wondering, what do you think of this rather descriptive style of writing? I might be using it for my future fictions. Well, somehow, I don't think many will comment on it, or maybe you will, who knows. If it's meant to be or not, well, we'll see along the way. Oh, and for those waiting for the next chapter of the "Almost Pirates" fic, don't worry, I started on the 4th chapter and am going to hurry it. It was hard coming up with ideas for the next chapter, but I digress, this isn't the Pirates fic. Take care.**


	2. Chapter 2

Over at the Hakurei Shine, resting on a mountain to the eastern border of Gensokyo, guarding the barrier that separates the outside modern world and this paradise, everything seems quiet, as not even the small group of five sparrows that fly by the main building make a sound, save for the flapping of their little wings.

Over the left side of the main shrine rests the hot spring, and although it is currently empty, there is a large keystone; a rock with seals surrounding it, said to have to power to stop earthquakes; toppled on the ground right in front of it.

The ground under the shrine starts to rumble, making the keystone roll over until it plunges in the water, then the rumbling stops.

Rather ironic that a keystone succumbs to an earthquake... I mean, one could say that if this was a _natural_ earth shake, but it's not.

From the living quarters, Reimu's loud shouting causes the ground to rumble once again as she shouts "I told you to leave her alone, you annoyingly thick-headed celestial!"

The ground stops shaking, silence resumes, and just as everything seems to settle down, there is another, more violent rumble, then Tenshi's loud voice echoing all the way to the Bamboo Forest as she shouts "she needs me, you lazy shrine maiden! That is Makai after all!"

Inside the living quarters' living room, the scroll on the right wall has fallen over, the cabinet has a few drawers open, the small table lies upside-down on three of the cushions that surround it, and in the center of said living room, Reimu is finishing the knot on a charmed rope she has tied all around Tenshi, even going between her legs once, making Suzaku, who just stares at the mess from the safety of her perch, question the maiden's intentions.

Reimu dusts her hands after making sure the blue-haired celestial can't move, then looks down at Tenshi next to her feet on her right, then says "now stay put! Rika is MORE than capable of taking care of herself! Besides, I'm not about to let you waltz in there and start a war!"

Tenshi lies on her right, facing away from Reimu and trying to turn her eyes all the way behind her head, just to glare at the shrine maiden.

Unable to do just that, she settles for swaying left and right, until she manages to hop a few inches off the ground, turn around in mid-hop, then land with all the weight of her body on Reimu's toes, making the shrine maiden yelp out and jump away.

Grinning victoriously, Tenshi stares at Reimu as she hovers over the floor, blowing on her own socked feet, then says "I'm not starting a war, stupid! I'm going in there, yank Rika from their disgusting claws, then bringing her back here, posing heroically on your roof while the tengu take profile pictures of my awesomeness!"

Stars fill the celestial's eyes and a drooling smile covers her face as she dreams on, unaware that Reimu has sent a yin-yang orb straight at her face, shattering the celestial's daydream right before her very eyes when it impacts.

The orb falls right off Tenshi's face and rolls away to the right, revealing the tearful frown on her red face, satisfying Reimu to no ends, then the maiden says "have more faith in her! Besides, Shinki isn't about to hurt Rika. She's been visiting her often just to make sure she's alright!"

Tenshi recovers her angry scowl, then shouts "but I'm supposed to protect her!"

Reimu gasps and stares at the celestial with shock and surprise, then asks "wh... what are you talking about?"

Angry tears escape Tenshi's eyes as she says "I vowed to protect Rika, and I will, even if I have to fight you! Now untie me so I can fight you and go to her!"

Reimu stares silently at the determined celestial; she knows no amount of rope is going to stop her, and knows she's stubborn enough to just go hopping over Makai anyway.

Sighing in defeat, Reimu approaches Tenshi, kneels beside her, roughly turns her around, then starts untying the knot, saying "let's go."

Tenshi twitches and tires to turn her surprised face at Reimu, then asks "wh-what? Really?"

Right after being untied, Tenshi kneels in front of Reimu, who says "to tell you the truth, I'm a bit worried about her too, but I'm not letting YOU go alone. I'm coming with you."

Tenshi lifts her left fist and cheers, but she and Reimu turn with surprise toward the left door after they hear it slide open and ask "Rika?" at the same time.

* * *

At the center of the City of Makai, Rika stands with her back against the left five-story building she had passed before, accidentally trapping herself between the cement and a whole gathering of angry Makaians, all glaring murderously at her.

Yumeko stands in front and center, with Mai to her right, and Luize and Sara to her left, and behind them all are the rest of the demons of that world, all locking their eyes on the frightened shrine maid.

One of the demons with blonde hair tied to a ponytail, aquamarine eyes, wearing a red sleeveless jacket over a long-sleeved black shirt, a short black skirt that reaches just above her knees, and a pair of thigh-high black boots, points at Rika and shouts "she's a white blood!"

The mob gasps, then Mai jumps in front of the demon and shouts "Lemia, stand back! Keep your distance!"

The large frightening Shinki statue stops spewing that black fire, and as if allowing Rika to absorb some courage from the air, the maid shouts "w-wait, wait! I just come to bring some-"

Yumeko cuts Rika off by shouting "we know why you are here! You want to take your mother away and keep her to yourself! Well, we won't let you!"

The mob cheers after Yumeko's words, then Rika hopelessly shouts "I'm not taking her away, I swear!"

Completely ignoring her, Yumeko gets closer to Rika, points her green glowing orb on her right finger at the maid, and in a dangerously low tone of voice, she says "get the hell out of here before we decide to kill you!"

Rika's eyes meet with Yumeko's, and upon looking at the murderous glow on the Makaian maid's eyes, Rika starts to tremble.

Hoping to appease the situation, Rika raises her violently trembling left hand to show them the basket with the taste-enhanced dumplings, but when it's about chest-high, a man roars "she's attacking!", then a dangerous shower of magical bullets fly straight at the shivering maid.

No matter who the hell you are, if you get hit by a danmaku concentration like that, shot by more than just a few murderous raging demon, you are going to die.

Looking upon this glowing death, Rika thinks "oh no, they fired. I should move, I should move, but I can't! Rika, you have to move! You'll inconvenience miss Reimu!"

Recovering some feeling on her legs, Rika screams and jumps out of the way, dropping the basket on the ground as she rolls away to the right, getting closer to the exit, yet still too far for her trembling limbs to reach in time.

Yumeko raises her right hand to stop her brethren from firing a second volley, then stares straight at Rika.

The shrine maid slowly gets back up on her knees, still not believing she's alive, and when she realizes the basket is no longer in her arm, she frantically looks around her knees until she spots the destroyed basket, and the single remaining glowing meat bun lying on a dirty wet spot on the ground to her left.

She starts to whimper as she reaches for it, hoping to be able to save it, but a short sword suddenly thrusts itself sideways between it and splits it in half, revealing the contents inside and breaking the taste spell, which takes the glow away from the bun.

* * *

Yumeko glares at Rika and watches with glee at the evident suffering in the shrine maid's face.

From behind her, Luize gasps and exclaims "so she WAS putting a spell on mom!"

Yumeko turns her head to look at her sister, fire fuels the hatred she's already feeling for Rika, and without thinking straight, she rushes to the shrine maid, bends down, grabs her by the collar of her shirt, pulls her up, then slams her against the wall.

Rika is starting to lose her temper.

She tried reasoning with these fools, but they didn't listen, they destroyed the gift meant as payment for Shinki's kindness these past days, as well as a possibility of opening a friendly relationship with some Makians, that's why she made so many meant buns, but now, her hard work has been destroyed, and worst, they are accusing her falsely, and now has a maid threatening her life.

She reaches for her sword, but Yumeko has already summoned another short sword, and is pointing it straight at Rika's neck, so she has no choice but to stay still.

Glaring murderously into Rika's eyes, Yumeko slowly asks "tell me, maid... why were you charming our mother? What is she to you?"

Rika is angry, and all she wants is to show this blond maid a thing or two about respect, but she knows damn well that's going to cost her more than her life.

She takes a deep breath, and trying to sound as calm as possible, she says "those were a gift! The spell was a taste spell! I'm not charming anyone!"

High above in the sky, flying several feet away from the awful statue, Shinki holds on to the unconscious Yuki by her waist, and watches in shock and horror at the events that unfold before her very eyes.

She watches how Yumeko holds on to Rika, threatening to kill her with one of her short swords, but she's unable to react, unable to believe what she is seeing.

Back down on the ground, Yumeko fights back with her desire to kill the one she believes is taking her mother away through force; she knows the second her sword pierces through that pale neck, there is no going back.

She calls back her weapon, making it disappear in a mist, lifts Rika above her own head, and with a hate-filled roar, she throws Rika toward the opening between the two buildings, opening her path to freedom.

Sounding furious, Yumeko roars "get the hell out of here! Leave us, and NEVER come back!"

Mai approaches Yumeko, readies a snowflake that looks like a giant saw, then says "lady Shinki doesn't belong to you! You don't even the RIGHT to look at her!"

Sara stands to Yumeko's right, stances as though ready to fight, then asks "how can a disgrace like you even dare try to take our mother away? Piss off before we vaporize you!"

Those last words hit Rika the hardest for some reason.

She gets up from the ground with her mouth corners bending down hard, even when her mouth is slightly open.

The light in her eyes vanishes, and is replaced by a gloomy murky cloud that seems to blind her with unbearable sadness, the skin around her face turns yellow for a moment, before losing all its color, and her heart, it beats so slowly and hard, each beat feels as though she's pumping poison through her veins.

* * *

That face; Shinki knows that face, this fact evident upon the look of horror on her own face after she gasps loudly at the sight.

That face of deep sadness on the verge of breaking a spirit; Rika's kind spirit.

Unable to take more, Shinki dives straight toward Yumeko, Mai, Luize and Sara, shouting "Yumeko, Mai, my children, what do you think you are doing? Stop this very instant!"

Yumeko looks back at Shinki with a look of pity, then points at her and shouts "she's still under the spell, stop her!"

Rika watches horrorstruck as Shinki's own subjects, her children, jump all over the goddess to stop her from getting close to her.

Guilt creeps into her heart when she realizes she is the cause of this, so being the kind soul that she is, she swallows her own sadness, bows politely at Yumeko, and the moment she recovers her voice, she says "I-I'm sorry for everything."

Rika takes another look at Shinki, noticing the unconscious black witch on her hands, then Shinki looks back at Rika and desperately shouts "wait, it's not what you think! Yumeko, my children, stop this already!"

Rika can feel warmth return to her limbs after seeing the act of kindness from the goddess, forgiving the shrine maid for causing such unrest amongst the Makaians and their goddess and mother; when in reality, she is completely wrong about that fact.

Rika bows one more time, takes to steps backward, straightens up, turns around, then flies toward the city's exit.

Shinki notices a glint falling to the ground in front of Rika, and rapidly thinks "they made her cry. But why? What happened? She... she didn't attack them, she..."

That's when all the answers come rushing to her.

The strange gift, the overwhelming longing for their mother's presence, the absurd claims, it all clicks together at that very last moment.

Still being held back by various hands, and still holding on to Yuki by her waist, Shinki whispers "you fools."

Meanwhile, Rika is flying so fast, she's already halfway through the fertile forest, completely ignoring the shooting fairies, one-eyed bats and... whatever those green winged eyeballs are.

In her mind, she repeats "gottaleave-gottaleave-gottaleave" over and over, replaying the attack she just survived, the look on Shinki's own face, and her very own feelings, the terrible way she felt when she was called a disgrace.

Even thinking about it pains her greatly, but she's ignoring that pain and focuses on reaching that gate and leaving that place.

Her eyes fill with despair as she gets closer to the gate, she does her best to speed up, using her own energy to push the air behind her feet, but in doing so, she loses control of herself and is about to crash her face on the ark above the large gate itself, but a blurry figure flies up, clings on to Rika, then pulls her down safely into the gate, disappearing like blue flashes through the space-like portal.

* * *

Reaching the other side of the gate, Rika falls on her face on a grassy patch after the figure of Koakuma loses her grip on the shrine maid, but feeling the familiar Gensokyo grass on her face does wonders for the maid's heart, immediately feeling soothed and a little more relaxed.

From her right, Koakuma calls "Rika-onee-chan, speak to me!"

From her left, a familiar girly voice asks "Rika-sis, are you, like, alright?"

From the direction of the gate, which is now behind Rika's feet, the maid can hear two struggling girls, one being Reimu, and the other being Tenshi, the latter shouting "no, I'M going in there, alone, and I'M cutting their damned heads off! Dammit, I should have been there before this happened!"

Reimu shouts back "no way in HELL I'm letting you do that alone! I'm going in there too, and I'm taking some skins to make myself a nice Makai-brand Makaian COAT!"

From directly in front of Rika, Youmu calmly says "stop shouting so much, you two. You're scaring her!"

The swordswoman is surprisingly gentle as she lifts Rika's shoulders from the ground and gently turns her around, placing the maid's head on her own lap.

Rika can finally see all present, and the sight helps her heart soothe even more.

Koakuma, Reimu and Tenshi are to her right, Reimu and Tenshi closer to her feet, apparently giving up their plan to storm Makai.

To her left are two more of her little sisters, Hatate Himekaidou, and Kogasa Tatara.

Hatate wears a purple tokin over her long brown hair she makes into two pigtails tied to purple ribbons on each side, has brown eyes, and wears a white short-puffy-sleeved shirt with a black tie, a black ribbon on her left arm, a black and purple checkered short skirt, and long black socks that are cross-laced with burgundy-purple straps that link to her red geta sandals.

Kogasa has short turquoise hair, her left eye is red, her right eye is turquoise, and she wears a turquoise sleeveless vest over a long-sleeved white shirt with puffed shoulders, a light-blue skirt, a pair of white socks, wooden sandals, and always carries around an eggplant-colored umbrella that has one eye and a long large red tongue sticking out of its mouth.

In front of Rika's head is Youmu, who is using her lap as a pillow for Rika's, and one thing all faces share in common, is the looks of concern as they look down on the tired maid.

Kogasa bends down, looking about ready to cry, then says "Rika, don't scare me like that again. We were all so worried!"

All of Rika's friends and little sisters nod at the same time, then Hatate gets closer to Rika, making sure they are making eye-contact, then softly asks "can you sand up, Rika-sis?"

Rika can feel the corner of her lips lightening up, then she smiles at them, nods, then whispers "I-I think I can."

Rika manages to sit up on her own, even whit Youmu telling her "Rika, take it easy. Let me help you out.", then the maid looks around and asks "so... did I get out? A-am I home?"

Though she smiles, Reimu and Tenshi notice a lost and desperate look in Rika's eyes, and Reimu, acting quicker than Tenshi, kneels down next to Rika, places a hand over her shoulder, and while looking at the maid in the eyes, she asks "Rika, what happened? Suzaku fell and was barely able to fly, the devil, the karakasa, and even the ghost and this tengu rushed over the shrine looking for you. What happened in there?"

Rika starts sobbing, her body convulses with each sob, then she looks at Reimu with a smile on her race and tears in her eyes, then cries "my lady, I did something bad... I am terrible."

Tenshi's sword, an ethereal yellow blade, bursts into flames when Rika starts to cry, then shouts "I'm going to kill those damned-" but before she finishes her sentence, Reimu throws an amulet on her mouth to shut her up.

All the present girls glare at Tenshi, then return their sights to Rika, who starts crying uncontrollably, saying through her cracking voice "it's all my fault. I took their mother away, and I made her cry for me, and..."

Koakuma knocks Reimu right out of the way, giving Rika a quick hug while saying "no, it's not your fault! You are a good person, even if you are white blooded!"

Rika is unable to speak anymore, but just as well.

Koakuma's hug is literally squeezing all her sobs and tears right out of here, preventing her from being able to speak any more, and shortly after, Youmu, Hatate and Kogasa join in for a light group hug while Rika cries away.

Meanwhile, Reimu rips the amulet from Tenshi's mouth, and after a small complaint from the celestial, they walk over to the space-like gate, stare at it, look at each other, sharing determined glances and adding courage to each other, then the gate turns red, a disturbing whoohing sound similar to a large man's furious groan, echoes through the immediate area of the small forest, then the gate itself starts to ripple so violently, it looks like a stormy beach.

The girls back away, startled as the sudden development, then Reimu says "whatever happened in there, Shinki was not part of it..."

Tenshi looks at Reimu with disbelief and asks "and how do you know?"

Reimu sighs, then says "right now, this gate is telling us that she is beside herself with anger... and these ripples..."

Reimu pauses for a moment, closes her eyes, then says "there's probably a storm at the other side of this gate. It's suicide to go inside right now."

Tenshi frowns at Reimu and shouts "but I want retribution! They made Rika cry, and I'll make them pay with their BLOOD!"

Reimu stares calmly, yet sternly at the celestial, then turns her sight back to the gate, then says "she's taking care of that already. Whatever happened in there, miss vengeful celestial, was out of Shinki's control, and now... she's raising hell inside hell."

* * *

Moments earlier, at the City of Makai's center, Shinki tries to pull herself and Yuki free from the Makaian's grip, she still feels Rika's presence in Makai, so she can fly over, catch up, apologize, then deal with her jealous children later, but she can't break free, not without leaving Yuki behind.

While Shinki tries to break free, Yumeko, Mai, Luize and Sara push her back, while the other demons pull, then Yumeko grunts "no, mom, stop! You're just under a spell! It's a spell!"

Flapping her wings to push her mother's arm, Mai grunts "mom, take it easy! We're only trying to save you!"

Luize clings on to the goddess' legs with all her strength, and after taking a sudden breath of air, she shouts "she's not even your one of your children! WE are your children! Us, not her!"

Upon hearing those words, Shinki stops struggling.

She takes a few breaths of air, then starts looking around with sad and seemingly tired eyes.

Taking her breath back, Sara manages to say "I think she understands. Lady Shinki, please understand, we just want to save you from her."

Yumeko releases her mother's shoulders, then sighs and says "mom, let us help you. Once we break that spell, you'll be back to normal. Now forget that girl. She doesn't even belong here."

Shinki twitches at the sound of those cold words, and right after she feels Rika's presence disappear from Makai, she starts to tremble, dark cloud start gathering up on the sky, and freezing winds start blowing through the city.

Yumeko is the first to notice the very sudden and drastic change in their weather, and immediately knows something is not right with Shinki.

She hugs herself, shivers from the cold, then says "mom, please understand, that girl is dangerous for you. W-we just wanted to..."

Shinki's eyes are cold and distant, and all she does is stare straight toward the city's northern exit, and noticing this, Yumeko wisely keeps quiet.

From the crowd behind Shinki, a raspy boy's voice loudly asks "mom, what's wrong? Aren't you happy that we saved you?"

Yuki starts to moan on Shiki's arm, and unconsciously says "uuh, mom... Mai hit me on the head again. Can... I get some strawberries?"

Shinki's eyes coldly move to Yuki around her arm, and in a cold tone of voice, devoid of any kind of emotion, Shinki asks "Mai, did you knock your sister over the head again?"

All the Makaians know this tone, and all cower away with widely opened eyes, shivering limbs and wings, and some even start to sob, pleading "mom, please don't be mad at me."

Mai gulps, her left wing twitches, then she pokes her index fingers together and softly says "um... y-yeah. I, uh... that is, I mean... she-she was..."

Shinki's cold stare turns to the disgusting large statue of herself, the cold gusts start getting stronger and stronger, then, deafening thunder strikes over the city so strongly, all the buildings, including the small houses over the suburbs rattle violently.

The Makaians all run around, screaming with fear and crying for their mother's forgiveness, but all their pleas fall on deaf ears.

Shinki continues staring at the statue, then a yellow bolt of lightning strikes the top of its head, making the flamethrower tip explode, and turning the statue itself into a conduit for more lightning bolts that continue to strike it, sending painful sparks all around the city, shocking all of her children with tiny bolts of pure electricity, making them all run and hide inside the many buildings.

The wind now blows with the strength of a storm, snow starts falling violently, thunder rumbles all over Makai, tornadoes form all around the city, plucking all the leaves and fruits right out of the trees outside the city, but she manages to control herself enough to keep the winds from ripping the trees out of their roots.

Amongst the chaos, Yumeko is the only Makaian left standing out in the open, and trying to reason with her mother, shouting "mom, please clam down! You don't have to do this!"

Yumeko lets out a whimpering gasp when Shinki shoots one of her most angry glares straight at the maid, a glare meant for enemies of Makai, not their children.

Tears fill the blonde maid's now empty eyes as she drops on her knees, then Mai rushes over to pick her sister up and drag her to the nearest building available, ironically, that being the very save building they used to corner Rika.

Yumeko wishes for nothing more than to go to her mother, to calm her down, but Shinki doesn't even want to look at her anymore, so the goddess turns around, accommodates Yuki on her arms so she's more comfortable, then takes off to the air, completely unaffected by the hurricane winds, the snow, or the lightning.

From the sky, Shinki can see the large lake has dried up completely, and all the creatures in there lie on the bottom, unable to move or die.

The fires of Hokkai can be seen clearly from the distance, rising hundreds of feet into the air, and the barren wasteland next to the city has become a cold deathtrap of sharp icicles on the ground, mountains, rocks, or anything that could normally be used for support or shelter.

Shinki's rage is evident, but having learned from the past, the goddess makes sure her rage doesn't destroy her world a second time, just punish her jealous children as harshly as she can.

* * *

It's one hour past mid-day in Gensokyo, and at the Hakurei Shrine's living quarters, Rika lies on the floor with her head on Reimu's lap, Tenshi kneeling to her right and holding on to her right hand, Hatate and Kogasa sitting by the small table with empty cups of tea and plates in front of them, Suzaku nesting on her left side, and Koakuma and Youmu standing by the closed sliding doors that exit to the left of the shrine.

Through tears, sobs and a cracking voice, Rika told them everything that had happened while inside Makai, blaming herself for all that happened, even with the girls constantly reminding her that she didn't do a thing wrong.

Tenshi seems calm, but the way she looks at Rika, and the way she holds the maid's hand lets Reimu know she's clearly blaming herself for not being there, so out of concern, Reimu says "it's not your fault, Tenshi."

Tenshi gasps and tenses up, then looks at Reimu and loudly says "I should have been there! Dammit, who do those demons think they are, picking on her like that? She doesn't deserve this shit, Reimu!"

Reimu growls softly, then angrily replies "well, shouting your head off won't do her any better, and neither will getting angry over it!"

Tenshi opens her mouth to argue further with the shrine maiden, particularly to blow off some steam, but Rika gently squeezes Tenshi's hand, narrowly opens her eyes, then smiles and whispers "Tenshi is so good to me. It's alright, don't feel bad for me, please. And don't be angry at them. They were just protecting their... *yawn* mother..."

Rika falls back to sleep, just as Suzaku lets out a quick squawk and raises her head to take a look.

She sees her master sleeping like an angel, but what she feels is a kind soul being tormented by a haunting nightmare.

From the shrine's door, Youmu says "please miss Reimu, take good care of her."

From Youmu's right, Koakuma beats her own chest with her left hand, and with determination in her eyes, she says "call me if Rika-onee-chan needs me! I don't care how, when, or where, you let me know if onee-chan needs my help!"

Reimu nods, then calmly says "She will be just fine. Just go before either one of your masters come get you."

Youmu gasps with surprise, while Koakuma just lowers her head wings and pouts, then they both bow to the maiden, Youmu turns around and opens the farthest-right sliding door a bit, and after both girls are out, the door closes up again just as Rika whispers in her sleep "my sisters..."

* * *

Over at Makai, the usual always-somewhat-sunny skies are full of black clouds that come with a life-threatening storm that mixes hurricanes, tornadoes, snowstorms, rain, thunder and lightning, all packed together at once, though each area of Makai is still being affected differently.

One thing all affected areas have in common are the hurricane winds, and been tossed around against her will in said winds, a blonde-haired, green-eyed girl with cool fashion sense is spinning around several feet in the air above the city.

Parsee screams with all her might "someone help meeee~!", but even if someone wanted to help her, there is no way anybody can catch her without getting trapped by the raging winds.

Luck finally falls on the jealousy youkai, and in a brief moment the winds subside, she manages to push herself lower, but her luck runs out quickly, and the winds pick up, slamming her back against the terrifying large statue of Shinki; more precisely, she crashes her back against the pipe on the top-left wing-tip.

She manages to grab on, but her sore back is not helping improve her mood.

She glares at the exhaust pipe, snarls, stands up on the wing, ignoring the furious wings, then kicks the pipe with all her might, bending it as she shouts "who put this ugly stupid statue here! Now my beautiful back HURTS!"

Right after that epic rage-kick, the wind picks up again, and Parsee is sent flying away high into the sky.

Deafening thunder strikes hard, almost leaving the jealousy youkai deaf, then she glares up at the clouds and angrily shouts "so what if I was making them even more jealous! It's not my fault they did that!"

There is another loud roar of thunder, accompanied by a bolt of yellow lightning that flies close to the youkai, and after shrieking, Parsee glares at the sky again and shouts "hey, I'm not a bad person, I can help out if I wanted to, so just stop BLOWING me around and let me go home!"

Three deafening thunder-strikes accompanied by one massive bolt of blue lightning strike one-after-another, then Parsee shouts "oh, so you LIKE tormenting cute girls, huh! I'll show you!"

Far away from Parsee, and only a few yards away from Pandemonium's gates, Yumeko braves the storm and makes her way back to the large palace, having tied a large rock to her back in order to keep herself from blowing away with the wind, like that blonde youkai over at the distance.

As the maid makes her way home, she quickly realizes the usually light-blue crystal palace looks pitch black, almost invisible in the darkness that is currently enveloping Makai.

Her will is strong, but after seeing the state of the palace, she starts to hesitate.

She stops for a moment and considers letting herself go, but that look on Shinki's face; she wants nothing more than to forget that moment, but she can; it's forever burned in her memory, reminding her of her own foolishness.

She squints her eyes and covers her face with her forearms when the wind suddenly picks up, then pushes forth, thinking "I can't stop now. I need to talk to her, I have to know! That girl is an outsider, not even one of us, yet she loves her more than she does us!"

Something in the back of her mind seems to pick on her, then, as though arguing with herself, she angrily thinks "Alice is different! She came here as a human child, and lived with us as one of us! That Rika came out of nowhere! It's not fair!"

She finally reaches the palace's gates, unties the rope around her waist and knocks the stone off her back, which immediately takes flight after bouncing off the ground once, then Yumeko enters through the gates and closes them up as fast as she can, so the winds outside don't get the chance to pick her off like they did the rock.

* * *

Over at the Hakurei Shrine in Gensokyo, Alice, followed by Shanghai and Hourai, flies hastily toward the shrine, lands on the left side of the porch, opens the sliding door, then places her surprised eyes on Rika, who sleeps on a futon on the living room's floor, with Tenshi still sitting to her right, and Hatate to her left.

Shanghai and Hourai immediately fly over to the shrine maid, Shanghai exclaiming "Rika! Someone hurt miss Rika!", and Hourai exclaiming "I told you the ghost-girl wasn't lying!"

Alice sighs and lowers her head just slightly, and ignoring the surprised looks from the girls inside, she thinks "dammit, they went too far, even though I told her to take it easy! This is bad."

The puppeteer turns around and says "I need to go talk to mom, before-"

Alice gasps loudly, literally swallowing her whole sentence, when Reimu places a hand on her shoulder and says "don't. You'll be putting yourself in danger if you enter Makai now."

Placing her hand on her hard-beating chest, Alice takes several deep breathes before shouting "don't do that, you assassin maiden! You almost gave me a heart attack!"

Reimu's reply is a point of her finger at Rika back inside, then Alice calms down, lowers her arms, as though pushing her stress down, then says "I'm sorry. You just scared me. But what do you mean put myself in danger? Is Shinki that mad?"

Reimu turns her head to the left, looking at the bit of grass growing next to the stone path around the building, then says "she almost sealed it off again."

Alice twitches in surprise, then looks at Reimu more calmly and says "I see. I warned them not to mess with the maid... the idiots."

Reimu suddenly grips Alice's shoulder, making her wince, and in a low and angry tone of voice, Reimu asks "what do you know about this?"

Alice gasps, the grip of this human is amazing, almost comparing to the level of strength of a youkai, and when Alice finds herself on her knees, she forces herself to say "Reimu, I swear, I didn't think they would attack! Th-they just wanted Shinki to stay home!"

Reimu loosens her grip a bit, and says "why didn't you tell us about this? I wouldn't have let her go into Makai alone if I had know this! Why are you telling me NOW, after THIS happened?"

Reimu tightens her grip again, making Alice open her mouth to scream, yet only her breath comes out.

The magician puppeteer tries to reach Reimu's hand with her own left arm, but the pain the maiden is causing her seems to shock her body and paralyzes her on the spot.

The maiden loosens her grip again, allowing Alice to breathe and shout "I swear, if I had known something like this would happen... hah... I would have told you!"

From inside the shrine, Shanghai yells "mama! Hey, stop hurting mama, you mean maiden!"

Three orbs, blue, yellow and red, in that order, fly between Reimu and Alice, forcing the maiden to release the puppeteer, who immediately drops on her knees and breathes as though she was being chocked, her hair dangling by her sides while her warm tears drip down her cheeks and on to the wooden porch.

From inside the shrine, Shanghai stands in front Rika's feet, pointing her little right finger at Reimu and frowning furiously at the shrine maiden.

Hourai flies over to Alice and pats her back, asking "mama, what did that mean maiden did to you?"

Tension rises, Reimu is losing her patience, Alice wants to beat Reimu up, Shanghai and Hourai, naturally, want to protect their mother, Tenshi has already picked her sword and is ready to beat both girls up if she has to, and Kogasa and Hatate are ready to protect Rika from these brutes with their lives if they have to.

The air gets so thick with tension, it can probably be cut with a knife, then Rika begins to moan and move around under her sheets, forcing everyone's attention on her.

The shrine maid moans and mumbles in her sleep, then her closed eyes start to tear up as she mumbles "no more. No more. Don't fight. No more. I'll go."

Reimu gulps, rapidly walks over to Rika, and before Hatate or Tenshi can, SHE gets between them and holds Rika's head, calming her down and saying "I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Calm down, it's alright. We'll stop."

After a few more seconds of moaning, Rika finally settles down and stops crying.

Alice stands inside the shrine, with the exit behind her wide open in case she needs to make a quick retreat, then says "stops accusing me of nothing and tell me everything you know!"

Hatate straightens up on her knees to Rika's left, looks suspiciously at Alice, then asks "why, so you can help your sisters plan another ambush with more information?"

Alice growls softly, then says "I would NEVER hurt that girl there!"

Tenshi, Kogasa and Hatate all look at Alice with surprise, and feeling the pressure from their stares, Alice says "Shanghai and Hourai love that girl, she fought the darkness inside of her to protect them, and... and if Shanghai says that girl is kind, then I believe her! I want to help!"

Reimu is the only one that seems to look neutrally at Alice at the moment, then suddenly bows her head and says "I'm sorry, I should have... I know, I knew all along and I still..."

Reimu raises her head, she's begging for Alice's forgiveness through her stare, then says "I lost my temper and I am sorry. I know you wouldn't hurt Rika, and if you knew..."

Alice sighs, Shanghai and Hourai fly to their mother's shoulders, Shanghai sits on the left, Hourai on the right, then Alice looks back at Reimu, then says "I will help you, but first you need to tell me what happened."

Even though Rika's sword is resting against the cabinet all the way over the front entrance, it transforms on its own and its hilt-jewel starts glowing an intense and bright blue.

The sleeping Rika cracks a smile, Reimu cracks a second smile, then, after some hesitation form the celestial, Reimu and Tenshi welcome the magician to get closer.

Suzaku, even after all that is happening around her, remains sleeping by her master's side, feeling what Rika is currently feeling, sapping her own joy and taking away the will to get up and contribute more to the conversation.

* * *

Meanwhile, over at the dark and stormy Makai, inside the darkened Pandemonium, Yumeko bursts through the door of the small study room, flying with a hurried look on her face through the small corridor, thinking "she's not in the study, she's not in the balcony, and I'm sure as hell she's not in one of the maid's rooms."

She reaches the main corridor that leads to the main hall and thinks "the main hall... she's probably not there, but seeing as I have to go through there anyway... might as well check."

Pandemonium used to be so beautiful, but now looks like a dark castle made for horrid monsters that lurk in the darkness, waiting for any potential prey to get close and devour it.

The floors look like they don't exist, being so dark it looks like an eternal abyss, and the walls seem to have vicious eyes inside of them, glaring back at all that is near.

The maid reaches the large door leading into the main hall, she lands in front of it, straightens herself up, then grabs the knob and immediately feels a cold chill burning her hand, like white-hot fire.

She swallows the pain with a loud gulp, turns the freezing knob, and is buffeted by a ridiculously cold mist that comes from inside the room.

She knows her mother is there, and she's angry; angry enough to punish her severely, even kill her, but Yumeko is not backing down now, so she builds up her courage and enters the room, closing the door behind her.

Inside, the room is so dark, even for Yumeko, she can only see a inch in front of herself, the cold is ridiculous, and could freeze her to death if she's not careful, and now, two glowing pair of blue eyes shine through the darkness, from the direction where the master's chair should be.

Yumeko opens her mouth, but her breath is stolen away by the cold tone of voice that comes from her mother's chair, asking "how dare you even show your face to me after what you did?"

Yumeko forces her own voice back and shouts "mother, I have to know, why do you care for that girl so much? It's not a spell, I understand that now, but if it's not a spell-"

Shinki's eyes start glowing a bit brighter, allowing Yumeko to gaze upon her mother, sitting frighteningly elegantly on her throne with her left hand on one armrest, and the other hand on Yuki's head.

The fire witch sits on her knees and rests her trembling head on Shinki's lap, moaning softly every time her mother brushes the side of her head with her hand.

Shinki takes this chance to show Yumeko the bit of blood on Yuki's golden hair, then angrily asks "what about Yuki? Is she an outsider too? Why did you do that to your own sister?"

Yumeko foolishly raises her voice as she angrily replies "don't change the subject! Yuki's and idiot! She could have done that to herself for all I care!"

The entirety of Makai starts to rumble as Shinki's eyes start glowing blood-red, and with a hateful growl on her voice, which echoes all around Yumeko, disorienting her, Shinki says "**do NOT take me for a fool, Yumeko! Keep in mind that my patience with you is as thin as a silk thread. DO NOT test me.**"

Yumeko no longer knows where she is.

After Shinki's voice finishes rattling inside her head, she realizes she's on the dark floor, and can no longer find her mother's eyes, or hear the wind outside.

All there is now, is her own breath, and the sound of her rapid-beating heart.

She's dying.

That's the only possible explanation she's capable of coming up with at the moment, however, her fears are put to rest when Shinki's voice, sounding just a slight calmer, echoes around her, saying "you are confined to your room until you realize the grievance of your actions."

Two candles inside glass orbs that hang from the walls on the left and right sides of the room suddenly light up, and Yumeko can see the she is inside her room, though it looks a lot smaller than she remembers.

Behind her is her bed, and just four steps away is the door, and even her vanity is gone, replaced by a simple square mirror.

Shinki's echoing voice continues "once you have learned your lesson, and I feel like speaking to you again, you will be released."

Yumeko runs to the door and starts banging her fists on it, and while Shinki's voice echoes around her, she shouts "no! Mom, I don't understand! Mom, I'm sorry! MOOOOOOOMMM!"

* * *

Waking up late at the next Gensokyo morning, Rika springs up from her futon, startling Suzaku into a loud squawk and a quick flap of her wings, then gasps and says "oh, no, it's late!"

From the kitchen, Reimu calmly says "well, good morning. Breakfast is already served, so please help yourself."

Rika realizes she's lying on a futon on the center of the living room, and on the small table to HER left, there are plates and bowls with rice, soup, and small dumplings.

The maid blinks twice as the data she's somberly collected sinks into her brain, and while she does, Suzaku gets closer to her master, stares at her chin, rubs her head against Rika's left cheeks, then flies up to her perch.

Tears suddenly fill Rika's eyes, a cute pout claims her face, and when she looks to her right at her mistress in the kitchen, she start to hyperventilate while slowly flapping her little wings.

Reimu, who wears a pink apron over her clothe, a pink cloth over her head, and holding a ladle on her right hand, knows damned well where Rika is going, so in a calm, yet stern tone of voice, she says "Rika, you are eating your breakfast, you are going to enjoy it, you WILL be grateful, and THEN you can go about your chores!"

In a fraction of a second, the maid is already sitting in front of the table with her chopsticks on her right hand, the rice bowl on her left, and her tears completely dried up as she exclaims "eating the food prepared by my lady! What an HONOR! Thank you for this meal!", then begins to chow down.

From the kitchen, Reimu smiles at the sight and thinks "what an incorrigible maid she is, but I'm damned glad she's cheered up a bit."

After finishing her rice bowl, Rika tilts her head right to raise her left ear, and can hear three familiar voices over at the shrine's front courtyard.

Reimu notices her interest, then says "oh that's right. After you are done eating, I want you to go talk to someone. Only then can you start with you chores, if you like."

Rika stares back at her mistress, lightly nods, then resumes eating away, going for the soup next.

Promptly after finishing her meal, Rika immediately heads outside the shrine through the front entrance, and the sounds of a giggling little girl, a chuckling boy, and a scolding girl get a little louder.

Curious, Rika takes a step out, and as she turns around to close the door, Suzaku flies straight to Rika and lands on her shoulder, telepathically saying "please, allow me to come with you."

Rika looks at Suzaku through the corner of her eyes, nods with a smile, then closes the door and heads straight to the shrine's front.

* * *

Once she reaches the front, she realizes the voices have stopped, and that the shrine is empty.

Rika looks at Suzaku on her right shoulder and asks "you heard them too, right?"

Suzaku shrugs, then says "maybe they'll come back later."

Rika shrugs as a response, casually walks to the back of the shrine, thinking of starting by sweeping the back courtyard, but that's a mistake.

The moment she looks at the forest stretching behind the shrine, she remember the trail leading to the gate of Makai, the attack by the Makaians, and slowly, she starts remembering their harsh words.

Suzaku can feel her master's mood take a dive to depression at an alarming rate, and all she can do to try and calm her down is to tweet and telepathically shout "Rika-sama, don't allow it to consume you! Th-think of mom, of miss Reimu!"

Rika remains standing with her hands down, her shoulders and wings start to drop, the maid takes a deep breath, then she jumps and turns around with a yelp when she feels a hand place itself on her shoulder.

She takes various nervous steps backward, breathing rapidly with fright, but stops when she realizes whose hand was that touched her.

Behind her are three people; a boy with brown bushy unkempt hair that somehow seems well-groomed, even with some strands jumping around his head, yellowish-brown eyes, wearing a purple t-shirt, a pair of black pants with three pockets on each side of the legs, one open, the rest zippered, white socks, brown boots, and a golden bracelet on his right wrist.

Sitting on his right arm while clinging on to his neck, is a little girl with large brown bat wings, long teal hair that reaches her lower back, a large white ribbon with black borders adorning the left side of her head, innocent violet eyes that have no pupils, and wearing a long plaid brown sleeved dress, which reaches down to her calves, a teal apron over the skirt of the dress, a pair of pink socks that have claws going through, but not breaking the socks, and has small claws on her fingers, and small fangs in her mouth.

To their right is a shrine maiden with long light-green hair that seems to have been recently cut to reach just above her lower back, a frog clip above a coiling snake ornament on the right side-burn, a pair of dark-green eyes, wearing a white jacket with blue borders, white detached sleeves, much like Reimu's, only with blue borders, a long blue skirt, pink socks, and green shoes.

Rika takes notice of all the blue bits on the girl's outfit are adorned with white polka dots and tiny stripes motifs.

Rika stares at the boy and exclaims "m-mister Ail," looks at the little bat youkai and exclaims "miss Budou", then looks at the shrine maiden and finishes "miss Sanae! Wh-what a p-p-pleasant surprise!"

* * *

Having managed to clam Rika enough, Ail and the maid sit on the porch at the back of the shrine, while Suzaku, Sanae and Budou walk around Rika's greenhouse, admiring all the plants she has in there, Suzaku hopping on the ground while telepathically boasting about each plan's care for her master; Rika doesn't seem to mind at the moment.

Ail and Rika quietly watch the girls and the vermillion bird, then Ail says "Reimu told me what happened. How are you feeling?"

Rika twitches upon hearing this, then lowers her head until she's looking at the dirt next to the stone-slab border, then softly says "I-I... what I mean... I don't know anymore."

Ail silently watches as the maid looks around herself, as if wanting to wrap herself up and hide from the world, then Rika continues "I didn't even know... I was taking their mother away, and that's just wrong."

Her eyes start swelling up, tears start to flood her eyes, and through her cracking voice, she continues "th-they called me names... th-they were right to do so. I did something bad. I am a very bad per-"

Ail places his right hand on Rika's left shoulder and pulls her up so that she looks at him.

His face looks scary, his lips are almost perfectly straight, his eyes seem to suggest he is angry, but she is very surprised when he speaks gently to her, saying "you are Rika Onkamikami, probably the most stubbornly kind person I know. Don't you even think for a single fraction of a second in time that you, someone so special and kind, is bad."

Rika's emotions stop right in their tracks, her tears seem to freeze, her eyes stop burning, and without knowing it, she's starting to crack a smile at Ail.

Noticing the corner of Rika's lips rising on their own, he lets go of her shoulder, places both hands beside himself, slightly leans back, then says "I've crossed paths with Yumeko already. She's a pretty sweet girl, quite kind, strong..."

Ail turns to look at Rika with a tired smile on his face as he continues "but once she's made her mind up about someone or something, she'll be the biggest, most irritating **bitch** you'll come across in your life."

Rika's tears completely dry up when her eyes expand after hearing Ail speak about someone like that.

Ail chuckles, then says "confused? I was, at first. See, when I first met her, I was with Maribel. We had somehow ended inside Makai territory, and after a few days, we landed on Shinki's castle... or palace, as they call it."

Rika is paying full attention to Ail, unaware that Budou is now sitting to her right.

Ail sighs, then says "somehow, to Yumeko's eyes, I was this huge pervert that would jump any girl at night and move on to the next. She was all over my case, not giving me a moment to think even once. Eventually..."

Ail's face becomes dark as he raises his left fist, and starts to tremble with rage as he continues "eventually, I lost my head, and I wanted nothing more than to kill her... and I almost did. She turned me into something I was not, and all because she thought I was something else."

Rika suddenly remembers the rage she felt before the Makaians started throwing those now-obviously ridiculous claims, how she felt toward Yumeko at that moment.

Ail relaxes and smiles, bangs his hand on the wooden floor to get Rika's attention, then looks toward the storage house and says "I remember dragging her on my back all the way back to Pandemonium, and that's when I recovered myself, and when she finally accepted who I was. Rika, what I'm getting at is, please don't hate that stubborn maid, but more importantly, don't forget who **you** are."

Rika can feel a heavy weight lift itself from her heart, she can breathe again, she can even feel as though her entire body is being cleansed, and now, she's smiling the way she's supposed to, making Ail smile along her.

After he notices the light in her eyes fully returns, he says "that's the Rika I know. Really, you're like a misguided little sister, you know that?"

Right after he says that, Rika wants to giggle and say something, but the jewel on her transformed sword suddenly starts glowing bright pink.

Surprised, both Rika and Ail look at each other, then Sanae, who stands next to Ail with a bit of a scowl, asks "alright, alright, what's with the pink glow?"

Rika unsheathes her sword and holds the blade down while staring at the red hilt, then giggles mischievously, and with her natural smile, she says "pink means love, miss Sanae."

Ail foolishly remains staring at Rika as though nothing has happened, even though Sanae's hair is on fire, she's gritting jagged teeth, and she has her gohei on hand, ready to strike him on the head.

Rika giggles at the sight, then says "please, relax miss Sanae, I was just teasing. Mister Ail just thinks of me like a sister. Isn't that right?"

Ail turns his eyes to Sanae, his face turns pale, his entire body begins to shiver, then he nods as fast as he can after Rika's statement, saying "Sanae, calm down. We've established this already!"

Sanae rapidly returns to her regular self and fiddles with her gohei with both hands, slightly raises her left leg, then pouts as she says "I'm sorry Ail, you know how I get when they tease me like that. I love my Ail-kun!"

From behind Rika, startling the maid, Budou raises her left fist and exclaims "Papa Ail and mama Sanny will never be apart!"

Suzaku flies on to Rika's right shoulder just as Sanae leans closer to Ail, and Ail grabs her chin and start giving each other pocking kisses.

Reimu suddenly slithers from inside the shrine like a snake, carrying a heavy mischievous smile, with her mouth corners almost reaching her ears, and her eyes glinting with excitement, and without giving anybody the chance to ask, she slithers behind Rika, places her hands on the maid's shoulders, then says "come on Rika, tell the truth already. You and Ail-kun got some sparks flying for each other, don't you? Come on Ail-kun, admit it!"

Reimu and Rika both jump away from the porch when Ail comes flying at them and falls face-first on the wooden floor, then Reimu flies away, laughing while saying "only too easy!"

Sanae flies after Reimu, spewing fire from her mouth while shooting little stars at Reimu, shouting "you take that back! Reimu, get back here this INSTANCE!"

On the porch, Ail lifts his scratched face from the wooden floor with tears dangling from under his eyes as he sniffles and says "she threw me!"

* * *

Over at Makai, even though there is a bit of light coming through the dark clouds, the destructive storm rages on, threatening to knock the buildings at the city from their very foundation.

Over the distance, Pandemonium has recovered much of its usual coloring, but it's still missing the usual shine, making it look rather dull.

Inside, Yumeko is in the kitchen with a depressed look on her face as she prepares lunch for Shinki.

The kitchen is at the end of the fourth left-turn corridor of the second main corridor, which leads to the dining hall after reaching the door next to that left turn.

Even though Shinki let Yumeko out of her room, she's still refusing to speak to the maid, and worst, the goddess is making damned sure she and Yumeko can't make eye-contact, even for a second.

Feeling heavy, Yumeko places a shiny chrome dome over the chrome tray, which has sliced meats, diced steamed vegetables, and a bowl of rather questionable-colored soup, as well as an empty white teacup.

So the right of that tray is another, smaller chrome tray with cake and cookies, and besides that, a crystal flower vase that's supposed to have flowers, but Shinki's rage is preventing any flower in or outside the palace to bloom.

Being as ready as she can be, Yumeko sighs, then drags her feet as she pushes the cart containing the trays she so carefully prepared, then slowly makes her way outside.

She exits the short corridor, and merges with the main corridor, which has many tall windows that, surprisingly enough, even though they are open, don't let a single gust of wind enter.

Yumeko looks at the dim light in the sky, ignores the screaming blonde girl spinning in the air as the winds carry her around outside, sighs, then turns left to the dining hall.

She takes on step toward the door, which is just three more steps away, and Yuki jumps in her way and stops her from entering, calmly saying "she's at the main hall."

Yumeko lowers her head a bit, gulps, then nods and turns around.

Yuki hurries closer, then asks "mind if I join you? Maybe she'll let you talk if I'm there."

Yumeko lowers her head and slows down to a crawl, and holding her desire to start crying, she softly asks "y-you forgive me that easily? Even when mom doesn't?"

Yuki suddenly smiles the same way she usually does, grinning widely while chucking annoyingly, then says "are you nuts? I'm getting my revenge on **all** your asses... but now is not the time."

Yumeko stops and starts sobbing, worrying Yuki, who places a gentle hand on the maid's shoulder, then Yumeko suddenly bursts to laughter, freaking the hell right out of Yuki, who stares with fright while thinking "no wonder she doesn't laugh that much. She's VERY creepy when she does!"

Yumeko places her left hand on her own forehead, manages to calm herself down to chuckling, then smiles at Yuki and says "alright sis, when all this is over, you come at me with all you got."

Yuki looks curiously at her sister for a moment longer, then smiles more naturally, raises her right thumb, then says "you won't even see it coming."

Yuki and Yumeko smile at each other for a bit longer, ignoring Parsee outside, as she spins by in the air, shouting "dammit, someone help me alreadyyyyy~!"

* * *

The Makaian girls reach the door to the main hall, where Shinki is, and stop to stare at it, as though the door itself is glaring back, being as unwelcome as it possibly can be.

Yumeko gulps, but Yuki seems as calm as ever, and noticing her sister's hesitation, she cuts in front and says "let me go in first, then you follow. We might get her to glance at you, at least."

Yumeko hesitates for a second, then nods, and Yuki bursts through the door, saying "moooom, lunch is ready!"

From inside, Yumeko can hear her sweet mother's voice when she replies "Yuki, you startled me, child!"

Yumeko gulps and thinks "this is it! A chance to have mother look at me! Here I go!"

She walks through that door as fast as she can and smiles as she says "y-your lunch is served, lady Shinki! Please help your... self?"

Yumeko's voice faints down when she notices Shinki is already looking away from her to the right and keeping her mouth shut, sitting with her legs crossed on the large chair, placing her head on her left hand as she rest her elbow on the right armrest.

Yumeko sighs, pushes the cart closer, then bows and takes a few steps back.

She can see the side of her mother's face and the side of her beautiful light-blue eyes, but that's about all she can get.

After a depressed sigh, Yumeko retreats and quickens her pace to get out of the room, quietly shutting the door behind herself.

She walks as fast as she can away from the main hall, takes the first corridor to the left, takes a quick right, walks into her room, slams the door shut, and from inside, her sobs take over the small corridor leading to her room.

* * *

At the main hall, Yuki eats Shinki's leftovers, which are literally the whole meal, and as she chomps away, Shinki stares at her daughter and gets lost in a trance.

While in her mind, she pictures Rika and her daughters getting along harmoniously, laughing amongst each other, but there's one problem.

The girls each have something behind their backs; weapons, death spells, something to harm Rika with, who remains unarmed and unaware of what's going on around her.

The entire scene becomes blood-red, the world starts to shake, and when it all stops, Rika stands alone in the dark, stained by her own blood, and carrying that dreaded sad face that continues to pain Shinki's heart so much.

A faint voice reaches the goddess as it calls "mom... Mom, wake up! Please wake up!"

When Shinki comes to, she notices Yuki is in front of her with a worried look on her teary face, asking "mom, why are you crying? what happened?"

Shinki blinks twice to recover herself, touches her cheek with her right index finger to find a tear there, then looks at Yuki and asks "Yuki, my child, what happened?"

Yuki pushes herself away from the large chair, straightens up, and in a serious tone of voice, she says "mom, this has gone long enough! Stop this storm, talk to Yumeko, to Mai, let them know what's going on! I can't take this!"

Shinki stares with surprise at Yuki, blinks twice, but before she speaks, Yuki continues "look, maybe they just need to get to know Rika, like I did! I mean, she's cool and all, but I did kind of keep my distance before really getting to know her, and those boobs are a bit intimidating, don't you think?"

Shinki suddenly starts chortling, then bursts into laughter, managing to say through breaths "her... her boobs? Afraid of... HAHA, Rika?"

Yuki blinks twice, tilting her head left as she stares curiously at her mother, then casually asks "what? Aren't you a bit intimidated by tho-?", then suddenly remembers her own mother's bust size, her face turns blue, her lips wriggle, and in a low and sad undertone, she finishes "never mind..."

Shinki giggles, the storm outside subsides, then Parsee comes flying through the window, screaming loudly before falling hard on to the crystal floor, then slides on to the carpet, and finally rolls like a ball until she's right in front of Shinki's throne, where she moans while holding the left side of her head.

Shinki stares down at Parsee as though she's looking at a disgusting pile of mold, and in a cold tone of voice, she asks "did you complete the task I appointed you with?"

Yuki smiles, points at Parsee, then excitedly says "ooh, I've seen that girl before."

Parsee looks up at Shinki while rubbing her head with her left hand, clenches her teeth, raises her right hand, flips off the goddess, then angrily says "I would have been done SOONER if you would have just stopped BLOWING me around all over the place, stupid god!"

Shinki's eyes glow light blue as she replies "you were being punished! You think I was just going to make it easy for you, after what you helped cause?"

Question marks start popping around Yuki's head, and before she asks, Shinki turns to face the fire witch, and in her usual calm tone of voice, she says "she's a youkai that controls jealousy, sweetie. She's the one that drove your brothers and sisters mad."

Shinki turns to glare furiously at the youkai and in a dangerous undertone, she asks "isn't that right?"

Parsee screeches when she feels as though a red pointing arrow flies right through her, and while holding her chest and stomach, she nervously shouts "yes, YES! Jeez, enough already!"

Shinki smirks, scoffs, then says "I have one more task for you, and then you'll be free from the curse, but before that..."

Shinki turns to Yuki, then says "Yuki, be a dear and get Yumeko. We need to get ready for tonight's dinner. Then, I want you to go to the city tell your brothers and sisters that Rika will be coming here, **TONIGHT**, and that I don't want any one of them to even raise a finger at her."

Yuki smiles, salutes Shinki, then says "get, sis, tell sis, go to city, tell them the busty maid is coming, and the finger will raise the alarm! GOT IT!", then rushes off straight to the right main corridor.

After she leaves, Parsee stares at the door Yuki just slammed behind herself and asks "is that girl gonna be alright?"

Shinki chuckles, snaps her fingers, then a rolled up piece of paper with a light-blue aura appears hovering in front of Parsee.

As the jealousy youkai stares at it, Shinki smiles and says "I know you know Rika Onkamikami. After all, you almost cried after you saw what you caused. Simply go and deliver this letter to her for me, but remember, if you fail me, that blue aura that's surrounding it will devour your magic, along with your body."

Parsee crosses her arms across her chest and turns her back to the rolled up paper, and asks "and if I refuse?"

Shinki smiles, and sweetly says "then I will personally devour your magic and your body and turn you into one of my lowest servants. A green slime with one eye, three tentacles, and no legs."

Parsee grabs the rolled-up letter, salutes Shinki, says "I'll deliver this RIGHT AWAY!", then flies straight out the same window she was blown through.

To her surprise, Makai is back to how it was just before the storm, as though nothing ever even happened.

The one thing different is the large, scary statue that is full of cracks, and is only spewing black fire from the left nostril.

As she looks around, she says to herself "everything is back to normal, just like that. All that crap because of a tantrum, and now all is right back to normal. I tell you, that goddess is a real-"

The image of Shinki appears in the sky, smiling sweetly at the lone, blonde youkai, then thunder rattles Parsee's head with a big boom.

Nervously, the jealousy youkai screeches, then shouts "alright, alright, I'm sorry! Stop picking on me!"

* * *

At the Hakurei Shrine, the revitalized shrine maid goes about her chores while humming songs to herself, as per-usual.

Although Ail, Budou and Sanae are still in the shrine, as well as Marisa, who came by after Reimu and Sanae blasted each other out of the sky, Tenshi Hinanai, that incredibly stubborn celestial, is nowhere in sight.

This almost saddened Rika again, but having her newly-appointed big-brother Ail there has helped her considerably.

As she walks into the storage house to pick up some rice and vegetables for a late lunch, she says to herself "she must be so busy today, she just couldn't come. Poor Tenshi. Next time I see her, I'm treating her to some green tea. That should brighten her day, I'm sure."

After she's done choosing, and picking the vegetables, and filled a large pot with rice, Rika grabs her full carrying basket and heads outside, placing the basket on the wooden porch to her right while she closes up the door.

Once done, she picks up her basket, turns around, stares at Parsee standing behind her, and when Parsee lifts her hand and opens her mouth, Rika screams, lifts her hands up in the air, and throws the basket up high.

Parsee scowls and shouts "I'm not ugly!", then looks up at the basket and the spilling contents, grabs the basket as it falls, and moves her arm accordingly, catching all the vegetables and rice.

She bows after Rika claps to her in admiration, then the youkai says "heh, oh yeah, I'm good.", then a silver washtub falls on her head, remaining there for a bit before falling off and rolling away, leaving Parsee bent down with an annoyed look on her face.

Rika leans forward, looks curiously at Parsee, raises her left hand and asks "oh dear, are you alright?"

Parsee shivers, grits her teeth, then groans through them "no problem. Didn't hurt."

Rika giggles, grabs the basket from Parsee's hands, then grabs the youkai's right hand and leads her into the shrine, saying "well, come on, let's go inside so I can get a look at that bump. You can eat lunch with us too if you like."

Parsee follows after Rika, remaining bent and still looking annoyed, then blushes slightly after Rika grabs a hold of her hand.

* * *

Inside the shrine, Ail, Budou and Sanae sit together on the same side of the small table, and although they are close tight, they all seem to not mind one bit.

Suzaku perches on the counter farthest from the stove, helping Reimu set up two trays with the food Rika has prepared in order to serve it, while Rika sits with Parsee's blushing head on her lap next to the wall that separates the living room form the rooms corridor, while she treats the youkai's bump with a cotton ball.

Marisa sits in front of Rika and Parsee with her legs crossed under her black skirt, and observes the girls with great curiosity and a grin on her face, making Parsee turn her eyes to the floor with embarrassment.

Reimu suddenly says "Alright, the meal is served, so help yourselves!", then Ail stands up to go and pick up plates for Budou, Sanae and himself.

Marisa uncrosses her legs, springs on her feet, and with that same grin on her face, she says "finally. I'm starving, ze."

Reimu quickly reply "well, if you'd help, we could get done even faster."

Marisa walks over to Reimu and Suzaku in the kitchen and smiles as she says "I'm a guest. That would not be proper."

Parsee is now in an undeniable state of bliss, but even in that state, Shinki's threat start to haunt her, so she manages to slightly return to reality, raises her right hand, opens her mouth, then Alice, with Shanghai on her right shoulder, and Hourai flying to the left of her, storms into the shrine, walks toward Rika and Parsee, then loudly asks "so are you going? Are you really going to go there?"

Everyone's attention is now on Alice and the two tiny girls, ignoring Yuki, who flies in front of the open entrance with a blissful smile on her face, waves at everyone inside, then continues on her way back to Makai.

Rika stares straight into Alice's eyes, blinks as she recovers herself, then asks "go where?"

Parsee raises her hand with the rolled-up glowing paper, then says "sorry, I tried to give this to you sooner, but...", then blushes as she mumbles the rest of her explanation, saying "you were being so nice, and I kinda liked it."

The jealousy youkai gets off Rika's lap after the maid grabs the paper and unrolls it, then glowing light-blue letters fly right out of the piece of paper and set themselves in the air, right in front of Rika, however, only Rika and Reimu can read, as to the rest in the people there, the letters look like ancient runes.

Noticing her friends' confusion, Rika read the letter out loud.

_Dear Rika,_

_First of all, I want to apologize for the way my children treated you, and hope you can find it in your heart to forgive them. They can be a bit overprotective of me, but in this case, it's was not entirely their fault, as outside interference escalated their usual levels of tension. Rest assured, all parties involved were punished for their actions._

_I wish to put this horrible incident behind us, and courtly invite you to join me and my children for dinner. Of course, I expect you'll ask Reimu's permission, and if she does not wish for it, I will understand. Please be assured that all measure necessary will be taken by me personally, so that nothing like this will happen again. Please consider my offer, but know that I will respect yours, and you master's wishes._

_Shinki_

Everybody remains eerily silent while staring at Rika; her bright smile revealing the excitement over this letter.

As she stares at the floating letters, her smile widens as she thinks "lady Shinki. She wants to see me again. I... I get to see miss Shinki again."

Her smile suddenly vanishes when she looks at Reimu with longing eyes, noticing her mistress' hesitation.

The shrine maiden is completely against it, thinking "does that goddess really believes I'll let Rika go there, after all that happened? But..."

Reimu notices the look on Rika's face, and she knows her maid can read her thoughts through her own expression right now, especially after Rika frowns.

Reimu sighs in defeat, scratches the left side of her head, then forces a worried smile as she nods once and says "alright, you can go."

Rika's smiles widely again, and unable to control herself, she exclaims "really? Thank you, my lady! Thank you so much!"

Everybody gasp with surprise when the floating letters suddenly glow bright, turn into a ball, then zip straight out of the shrine and head back to Makai.

On the shrine's roof, Tenshi listens to the whole event unfold, growling softly as her eyes tremble with fury.

As she sits on her knees, she bites her thumb's nail and thinks "she's going back there. No way. I'm not leaving her alone again! I don't care what Reimu says, I'm going in there and make sure as hell that nothing happens to her again."

Moments later at Pandemonium's main hall, while Shinki sits on her throne-like chair and addresses Yumeko, who seems to be smiling bitterly, the ball of light from the letter flies right to her, stops between the goddess and the maid, glows light-blue, then vanishes.

Shinki smiles, looks at Yumeko, then says "she's coming. Make sure everything is set, and NOBODY better even think of doing anything to her."

Yumeko takes a deep breath, bows, and after turning around to the door, her face twists with anger.

As she makes her way to the dining hall, she thinks "mother is talking to me again. I should be overjoyed, but it's all about that Rika! Why? Dammit, I hope this just ends quickly so we can forget all about her!"

* * *

Late noon, at the Hakurei Shrine, Rika stands beside Alice, who has Shanghai and Hourai on her shoulders, in front of the back doors of the shrine, and looks inside as Reimu says "Alice, I'm trusting you with her care. If anything happens, I'll hold you responsible."

Alice bashfully giggles as she thinks "is Rika really a grown up?", while Shanghai Angrily says "mama Alice already promised, you mean maiden! Don't underestimate her!"

Hourai quietly crosses her arms over her chest and nods in assent with her eyes closed.

Inside the shrine, Reimu stands under the doorway, Marisa stands behind Reimu, Ali and Sanae sit together beside the small table in the living room, watching as Mima and Suzaku push their heads against one-another.

Mima breathes through her teeth, growls, then speaks through them, saying "I told you, it's my turn to hold her!"

Suzaku telepathically replies "No, Budou's not done petting me yet!"

Budou stands next to a tied up human, who says with an old and sweet voice "go on dear, you know you want to."

Reimu takes a step outside, looks at Shanghai, then says "my warning goes for you two as well."

Rika steps up, smiling warmly at her mistress, bows, then says "my lady, miss Shinki said she took care of everything! I will be fine. And with miss Alice there, I won't get lost like last time!"

Reimu gulps, Marisa covers her mouth to laugh at her friend's weakness for her maid, then Reimu sighs and says "well, y-you can't blame for worrying!"

Rika looks to the left, feeling at fault for making her mistress worry, but gains some courage, looks at Reimu in the eyes, then says "th-this time it's different! I was invited. Last time I went in there without really thinking about it much."

Alice sighs impatiently, then rubs her forehead with her right hand as she says "we're going to be late. Let's go already. And Reimu, we won't let them touch her, you have my word."

Shanghai hops on her feet on Alice's shoulder, then says "ha! You got mama Alice's guarantee! Now you have no choice but to stop worrying."

Hourai continues crossing her arms over her chest while nodding in assent with her eyes closed.

Reimu nods back with a stern look on her face, then Alice and Rika turn around, Shanghai falls back on to Alice's shoulders, then the girls take to the air and slowly make their way toward the gate to Makai.

After the girls are far away enough, Reimu's eyes glint, and she turns around to look inside the shrine, unaware of a dark blur that jumps off her roof and goes after Rika and Alice on the ground.

Marisa, and now Ail as well, stand behind Reimu and look at her, waiting for something.

The maiden breathes in, then says "I'm going after them. Marisa, Ail, Suzaku, take care of the shrine while I'm gone."

Marisa and Ail salute Reimu, and from the living room, Suzaku stands on top of Mima's dizzy head as she replies "you can count on me, my lady."

Reimu smiles, then suddenly points inside the shrine and shouts "and no parties!"

Inside the shrine, tied up with rope, is the partying old woman with light-brown hair and narrow, golden-brown eyes under oval glasses, wearing a golden kimono with white flowers designs on the bottom that spread through vines all way up her back and chest, with a large brown ribbon with a red center tied around her waist.

Her crooked brown wooden walking stick leans on the cabinet next to her, and she smiles back at Reimu, chuckles, then says "I'll be good, missy!"

She bends down to Budou, who keeps staring at her, and whispers "now be a good girl and cut these ropes with your claws."

After making sure all is set, Reimu turns around, and sounding very serious, she says "I'll be damned if they think I'm leaving Rika alone in there again."

Ail places his right hand on Reimu's shoulder, then asks "are you sure about this?"

Without hesitation, Reimu nods, then takes flight toward the back lake, heading straight to the gate to Makai.

After she leaves, Ail sighs as Marisa says "don't blame her. She may be violent sometimes, but she's really sweet, and hates it when someone threatens her friends."

Ail smiles, turns to face Marisa, and says "yeah, I know what you-", then notices the ropes holding the old lady are lying on the ground without the old lady in sight, opens his eyes wide with surprise, then exclaims "oh boy, she's already escaped!"

Budou sits on Sanae's lap, crying "she tricked me~!", while Sanae rubs her head under the little bat youkai's neck, softly saying "there, there, she's just too smart for us."

Suzaku takes flight inside the shrine, and sounding desperate, she telepathically shouts "spread out! She must NOT find the sake!"

* * *

Alice and Rika arrive at Makai by the time the sun is just about to set over at Gensokyo, yet in Makai, the same eerie light shines as though it's daytime.

Over at the City of Makai, even though it is bright outside, lights from inside some buildings can be seen from the distance.

Rika looks around with a confused look on her face, and Alice, noticing her confusion, says "there is no actual day or night in Makai, as natural light from the sun or the moon could cause harm to the demons here. Though... it's kind of odd they can visit Gensokyo for prolonged periods of time... but I digress."

Rika giggles, then looks at Hourai on Alice's shoulder as she says "some questions are best left unasked, huh?"

Hourai continues to nod with her eyes closed and her arms crossed, then opens her left eye to look at Rika, then pulls off a pair of headphones hat were hiding under her hair, and asks "what? I'm sorry, I wasn't listening."

Alice and Shanghai sigh long, while Rika stares at little Hourai with an awkward smile.

Alice is about to suggest they start moving, but they are called from the right by a girl.

Turning their heads, Alice, the tiny girls and Rika can see Luize and her blimp-like airship awaiting for their arrival, and Shinki suddenly walks out of the ship's entrance, bearing her usual smile as she waves at the girls.

Meanwhile, over at the gate in Gensokyo, Reimu waits a little longer before plunging inside the starry sky-like portal, when some rustling of leaves from behind her get her attention.

She feigns ignorance while thinking "someone's here. He's hiding to my right... just need to let him move a bit more, ...and..."

A dark silhouette jumps from behind the bushes and aims to land straight on Reimu, but the shrine maiden cartwheels to the left at the last moment and sweeps her left foot after she is on the side of the figure, making her yelp and fall flat on her back on to the ground.

Realizing it's a girl she's fighting, Reimu stands tall and asks "so you thought you could just barge in there on your own, didn't you, you annoying celestial?"

Tenshi rubs the back of her head as she sits up, then groans and says "dammit Reimu, I'm not going to stop! I'm going in there and making sure Rika is safe!"

Reimu bends her knees to look at Tenshi's eyes, then nods and says "I know. I was hoping you'd come with me."

Tenshi shakes her head and shouts "you're going to have to kill me if you want to stop- wait, what?"

Tenshi opens her eyes wide after realizing that Reimu is asking her to come with her into Makai.

After the confusion leaves her spinning mind, Tenshi smiles and asks "alright then, what are we waiting for?"

Reimu straightens up and gives Tenshi a hand back to her feet, then looks at the gate and says "yes, we've waited long enough. Let's go, for Rika!"

A trumpet starts playing dramatically after Reimu and Tenshi nod in unison, then Reimu looks up to her right and says "ok, you can cut that out already."

A girl with light-blue wavy hair with a pink pointy hat on top, that has a blue sun on its tip, blue eyes, and wearing a long-sleeved pink vest with a matching pink skirt, pops out of a bushy tree, a trumpet with ghostly wisps around it comes flying out after her, and with a sheepish smile, the girl says "whoops. Sorry about that."

* * *

Back in Makai, after the airship flies over the large lake and lands on the patch of land in front of Pandemonium, Shinki, wrapping her right arm around Rika's shoulders, smiles as she happily says "and now you know how to reach Pandemonium. Isn't that nice?"

Rika giggles and nods, then says "last time I was so lost."

As Rika and Shinki make their way toward the crystal palace, Shinki laughs and says "oh, I know. It's a bit confusing at first, but you can get the hang of it."

Behind them, Luize looks sick, annoyed, depressed, and just about ready to point a finger at Rika, but Alice walks out of the airship just in time to smack her sister's hand, and she, Shanghai and Hourai say at the same time "don't you dare."

Luize is about to complain to Alice, but she quickly realizes Shinki is giving her the stern glowing glare through the corner of her eyes, so the Makaian wisely quiets down and whispers "I'm sorry."

Meanwhile, back at the entrance to Makai, Reimu lands on her feet after jumping out like a flash of light from inside the gate portal, followed shortly by Tenshi, who gracefully falls on her face and takes an elegant bite right off the patch of grass in front of the gate.

Spitting out the grass from her mouth as elegantly and gracefully as a drooling camel, Tenshi pushes herself up, groans as she recovers her balance, then says "wh-what the hell was that? Oh gods, I think I'm about to barf."

Reimu looks sternly at the celestial, then says "get a hold of yourself, Tenshi. You're in Makai now, so keep your emotions in check. Remember, if anything goes wrong, we are the only chance Rika has of escaping."

Tenshi finally recovers her full balance, then looks at Reimu and asks "what about Alice and those tiny girls?"

Reimu smirks, then says "they would never lay a hand on Alice, I can assure you that much."

Without giving a warning, Reimu takes off to the air, then Tenshi follows after her, angrily pointing out "hey, you could at least tell me to move out, or something."

Reimu replies as-a-matter-of-factly "if I did, you'd ask me to stop bossing you around."

Tenshi twitches after the blunt and truthful reply, then decides to follow the shrine maiden in silence.

With Reimu on the lead, it doesn't take them long to reach the city, and upon laying their eyes on Shinki's statue, both their faces turn green with disgust.

The statue is cracked in several places, and yet continues bursting red fire from the left nostril, however, it's doing so at an irregular pace, and sometimes even stops before suddenly bursting again, followed by black smoke.

Reimu stares at the statue for a bit, then says "that is one ugly statue. Look at that face. And what is that fire suppose to be, a snot?"

The girls shrug and continue on their way to the palace, then Tenshi says "you know, I've seen that pose somewhere before."

Up in heaven, a woman with short violet-blue hair, red eyes, wearing a black hat with a red ribbon that looks like a pair of antennas, a pink long-sleeved pink shirt, and a long dark skirt sneezes hard, making a bolt of blue lightning strike to her left.

She sniffles, looks around the white, fluffy clouds, then says "someone is thinking about me."

* * *

Back at Pandemonium, after crossing through the first corridor, the main hall, and finally the second corridor, the four girls and two tiny girls on Alice's shoulders arrive to the dining hall.

A very large room with two, extremely long crystal tables set on top of one large red carpet with golden diamond chain designs, and borders made out of pure gold on the center of this room.

On the ceiling hang two large chandeliers, same as in the main hall, but these have about a hundred candles each, and all are lit at the moment, illuminating the entire room with some help of the grim light that enters through the windows.

Large red curtains that are supposed to be covering said windows are now rolled aside and tied with golden-colored ropes.

On the tables is a feast, with enough food to satisfy the stomachs of three oni, though thankfully, there are none in here today.

Inside the room, Yumeko, Yuki, Mai and Sara wait for their mother and her guest to arrive, along with many of their brothers and sisters, and although the ones in the room are mostly human-like, some are still a bit larger, others have different-colored skins, and some have demonic wings and tails on them.

All stop talking when Shinki and Rika enter the room, and although the Makaians smile at their mother, once they turn their faces, they all frown and scowl and start murmuring amongst themselves.

In a sweet tone of voice, Shinki says "please, everyone, take your seats."

Crystal benches phase through the red carpet and set themselves in front of the two large tables, however, at the inner-end of the tables, the end farthest from the windows, nine separate and amazingly comfortable-looking wooden chairs with gold borders and red cushions on the backrest and seat appear after Shinki claps twice.

After their brothers and sisters are sitting on the benches, Yumeko, Luize and Sara take the chairs to the left of the table, while Mai, Yuki and Alice take the ones to the right, Yumeko and Mai taking the chairs closest to the main chair.

Shinki smiles at her daughters, softly claps her hands to the right of her face, then says "oh no my sweeties, I need those two chairs available. Please be good girls and move one seat back."

Shinki says this while pointing at the two chairs closes to her own main chair at the end of the table, confusing her daughters, save for Alice, and the girls immediately move one chair back each.

Rika is about to take one of the available benches, but before she even moves, Shinki grabs her shoulders and says "oh no my dear, you are sitting next to me. You are my guest after all."

Rika's cheeks turn pink, then she immediately nods and says "thank you kindly, miss Shiki", so as not to offend Shinki after such a generous offer, even if she does feel a bit bashful about it.

Rika takes the chair next to Mai, who growls inward and quickly switches places with Yuki.

Yuki, of course, doesn't mind at all, while Alice just chuckles as she pats Mai's shoulder.

All of the Makaians, except for Yuki, stare daggers at Rika after she takes her seat, and Yumeko can't control herself and lets out a low growl.

These looks and that growl do not go unnoticed by Shinki, who clears her throat just as a low thunder strike from outside warns the Makaians to be mindful of their manners.

All of them quickly turn their faces away from Rika, but still whisper amongst themselves.

The shrine maid feels a bit uncomfortable, especially with Yumeko throwing dirty looks at her from across the table whenever she thinks her mother isn't looking.

Rika lowers her head and thinks "maybe I shouldn't have come. I'm causing discomfort for these people. Oh, but I just wanted to see Shinki again. I don't understand..."

Shinki manages to calm down, then suddenly stands up from her chair and remains in front of the table, then shortly after, everyone else stand up in front of the table, Rika following their example immediately, having extensive knowledge about protocols and etiquette.

The goddess of Makai clears her throat, then says "my children, those of you who have come here to the palace, and those of you watching us from the comfort of your homes..."

After Shinki says this, Rika looks around and noticed various tiny oval cameras flying all around the dining hall, hovering in the air on their own. Shinki continues "please allow me to present to you all a very special guest."

Shinki looks around at all present, except for Rika, then gestures with her head for all of them to bow down, then she points at the entrance to the dining hall with her hand and says "Shikieiki Yamaxanadu, the Yama of Paradise."

The door suddenly opens up on its own and the silhouette of the yama appears standing behind it, and the only clearly visible feature from her is her gold Rod of Remorse on her hands.

Peeking through the windows, Tenshi and Reimu gasp after hearing the name, then Tenshi whispers "the yama is here?"

Shinki and the Makaians bow after this small frame appears before them, but Rika remains in a bit of a shocked state, surprised at the sudden turn of events, thinking "what is going on? Why is miss Eiki here?"

From the doorway, Shikieiki's girly, but strict voice enters and conquers the entire hall as she says "Lady Shinki, thank you for inviting me over for this special dinner night."

* * *

To be continued...

Characters, Spell Cards and Scenarios belong to ZUN -Team Shanghai Alice-

Ail and Budou were created by Willie G.R.

Rika Onkamikami and Suzaku the Vermillion Bird were created by Snapshot 2010

JAN 16 2011

Original Story by

Snapshot 2010

Written by

Willie G.R.

* * *

**A/N:**

**First off, I want to apologize to those waiting for more "Tales of the Almost Pirates" fourth update. I got too involved with this chapter for this story, and I couldn't let it go. I apologize ...orz.**

**Well, that aside, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I must admit that this is the first time I write Shinki so enraged. Heh, goes to show that even though she is sweet and nice and all that, you get on her bad side, hurt her children for example, she's going demon goddess on your sorry self. Now, I want to admit that, although I said I was going to use Snapshot's guidelines for this chapter, in truth, I only ended up using them at the end. Well, I still used the first part of the guidelines to lead the characters to where they need to be. Now I'll be using those guidelines even more for next chapter, though. Ah well, that's enough out of me. Hope you enjoyed this chapter.**


	3. Chapter 3

Nighttime at the Hakurei Shrine, which is in the care of the most unlikely of people, yet they have earned Reimu's; the shrine's maiden; trust, and for that sole reason they feel all sorts of panic from the predicament they are in.

From outside the shrine's living quarters, just a step away from the front door, the adorable karakasa youkai, Kogasa Tatara, stands with her eggplant colored, one-eyed umbrella held on her hands, contemplating on the decision to whether attempt to knock on the door, or turn around and run away while she still can.

From outside, she can hear furniture cracking, plates breaking, people shouting, little girls crying, old ladies cackling, and she swears she heard an organ playing a moment ago.

Kogasa takes a deep breath, fills herself up with as much courage she can manage, then grabs the door, slides it open, and with her eyes closed, she shouts "excuse me, is Rika here?"

The shrine is now silent, and from inside many eyes are now all aimed at the karakasa youkai.

On the center of the living room, Ail kneels on something gold, and has his left cheek covered by a bandage, and his right eye looks black.

To his left is Marisa, who is holding some rope, is missing her hat, has half of her shirt has been ripped off, showing off her pale belly, and looks as though a hurricane just struck her head.

Suzaku perches on Ail's head, and although she looks fine, her neck is missing a good chunk of feathers, evident when she ruffles and shakes her head.

Mima sits with her legs crossed on the floor on a corner with Budou on her lap, and although both girls look fine, the little bat youkai seems to have been crying for a long time.

Sanae is over at the kitchen, away from all the mess while preparing a meal for everyone, and when Kogasa gets a better look, she notices what, or in this case, who is under Ail and Marisa.

The old partying lady who calls herself Michiko, is now trapped and tied up by her ankles and wrists, but even so, she struggles so strongly, both Ail and Marisa are having a hard time just keeping her in place.

The entire shrine is a mess.

There are clothes scattered everywhere, plates broken on the ground, and one plate is stuck on to wall to the rooms corridor as though it was used as a chakram, there are pieces of what are supposed to be doors and cabinet doors scattered about, and the small table used for dinner looks like it has just been mended, and has a visible crack on the middle.

Kogasa stands dumbstruck under the door's archway as she looks inside, and after deciding to ignore what she has just seen, she asks "um... so, has anybody seen her? I need to tell her something very important."

Michiko wriggles under Marisa and Ail, almost knocking the boy down, then shouts "hey, how about helping this old lady! This is abuse of power I say!"

Marisa looks down and angrily says "quiet you! You're paying for my new shirt, you evil witch!"

The woman raises her left eye, revealing her golden eye as she says in an undertone "watch your tongue missy."

From the kitchen, Sanae sighs, then says "she's at Makai right now, and will be back much later. If you want to wait-"

Kogasa rapidly replies "no, this can't wait! Hijiri said it was very, very important that I delivered this message with haste! Shou then said something about going postal on me if I failed."

Ail raises an eyebrow while staring at Kogasa, who is looking up to the ceiling while saying "and I didn't like the sound of that, but I really don't get what she meant."

Ail smiles, points to the back with his thumb, then says "just head all the way behind the shrine until you reach some mountains, and there you should find the gates to Makai. Once in there, just find the lake, and you'll find the palace of Pandemonium. Rika should be there."

Kogasa smiles, squeals with glee, waves her right hand in the air, then says "thanks. Now please excuse me while I go on my quest to find Rika-sis! See you all later."

After that, Kogasa closes the door, then can be heard as she flies away, and that's when Budou finally sighs and says "really, she could have helped a little."

Without realizing it, Budou is now in the lap of the old Michiko, who smiles as she says "I'll say. She's as cute as you, but lacks your brain sweetheart."

When Budou realizes where she is, she starts screaming and tries to fly away, only to get caught and held by the old lady, while Ail and Marisa gasp with surprised when they realize it is now Mima who is knocked out underneath their knees.

Suzaku squawks angrily, Ail points at Michiko, then Marisa screams "get that west-side witch!"

And so, the loud noises, screams and cries resume while the partying old lady cackles away and says "now THIS is a party!"

* * *

Meanwhile, at Makai, inside Pandemonium's beautiful and spacious dining room, Shinki, the Makaians, and Rika, are all bowing down while facing the entrance to the large room, where a rather small figure stands.

The figure is none-other than Shikieiki Yamaxanadu, who has green hair that seems to be tied up, but her blue hat with golden and black ornaments that make it look as though she has horns, hides her hairstyle well, though her hair does seem to be longer on the left side, hinting for a side-ponytail.

She has dark blue eyes and wears a blue shirt that reaches down to her thighs and has long white sleeves and a pair of golden shoulder pads that resemble the Golden Rod of Remorse on her hands, her black skirt is half-covered by her shirt and reaches down to her knees, a pair of white socks, and black shoes that have a red and white ribbon for adornment.

She also adorns her head with a red and white ribbon that has the white side to her right and the red side to her left, and ties a white ribbon around her right arm, and a red one on her left.

The Yama of Paradise looks around and feels a bit embarrassed about the reception, but she accepts it never the less.

Shinki is the first to straighten up, then raises her arms in a welcoming manner while saying "welcome to my palace lady Shiki! Please, come on over and take your seat."

Shikieiki slightly bows, then walks toward Shinki, bows again, then says "thank you for having me. Shall we indulge on this meal?"

Taking the seat to the right of Shinki, Eiki now has Rika right in front, who looks at the Yama with great curiosity.

At first, Shikieiki is sharing some cheerful conversation with Shinki, but quickly notices Rika's unblinking stare.

Curious, Shikieiki turns to look at Rika and asks "miss Rika, what is it?"

Rika stares for a bit longer, then yelps when she realizes what she is doing.

After waving her hands around, Rika calms down, bows her head, then says "I'm sorry, it's just that you seem to be so important, yet I don't... wait..."

Rika raises her head and squints her eyes to get a better look, then says "I have... met you before... during my trip back home, and... and you-"

Shikieiki smiles as she raises her hand to stop Rika from saying more, then says "allow me to introduce myself. I am Shikieiki Yamaxanadu, the Yama who judges the dead here in paradise."

Rika gasps, yelps loudly, and thrashes about as she clumsily gets off her chair, knocking it to the ground while still trying to get on her feet, and when she's finally up, she suddenly drops on her knees, knocks her forehead on the table with a loud bang, making Shinki gasp with surprise and making even Yumeko flinch at the sight, then finally bows so low to the ground her throbbing forehead is touching the carpet.

Even though her head throbs, Rika nervously says "I am so sorry, please forgive this maid's rudeness! I didn't fully understand who you were, lady Shiki!"

As she does this, she thinks "yes, she's the one that gave me Suzaku, the one that made me understand my love for Gensokyo, and now I see why she knows me, and... Oh by the gods, why was I so blind to this? I hope she forgives me."

* * *

Shikieiki sighs as she gets off her chair with a tired look on her face, then slowly makes her way to Rika, who is still bowing low to the ground.

She grabs Rika by her right arm, pulls her up on her feet, flinches at the sight of the bump on Rika's head, then says "Rika, we are not in my courtroom, nor are you on trial. Please, treat me as you would a friend, if you'd be so kind."

Rika looks into Shiki's eyes for a moment, nods, then stands up on her own.

Meanwhile Shikieiki thinks "my dear, dear friend. All these hardships you have endured, and all that are yet to come. If it were up to me, I'd stop all of this, but..."

Shikieiki blinks and her eyes become distant as she stares at Rika and thinks "but one day... I will have to tell you, explain to you everything, remind you of that horrible past. Life can be so unfair, and yet you smile like you did back then. You truly are worthy of-"

Shiki's thought are brought to a halt when Rika asks "lady Shiki, are you alright?"

Shikieiki shakes her head a little, looks back at Rika, then smiles, pats her head, then says "I'm sorry. Seems I got lost in thought there."

Rika smiles back, that angelical smile of hers, lightly flaps her wings, then says "well, as long as you are well. And thank you, lady Shiki. I would be honored to be your friend."

Shikieiki smiles back, then says "well then, stop calling me 'lady'. I am your friend, so please address me as such."

Rika bows lightly with a smile on her face, then says "alright la- er, I mean, miss Shiki."

Shikieiki sighs and rolls her eyes, knows that's as far as Rika would go when addressing someone, save that celestial friend of hers, then gives Rika a friendly pat on the back, saying "that's more like it."

That moment, Rika's sword takes its colorful shape, and the jewel on the hilt glows an intense pink, and even Rika gets surprised at the sight.

Once the glow dims, and the sword returns to normal, Shiki returns to her seat, takes a silver fork, then says "come. Wasting food is a sin, so let us eat now."

Rika giggles and nods, realizes her chair is back in its place, then sits down and begins to enjoy the meal of vegetables, soups, dumplings, and plenty of sweet meals and treats.

Shinki has a bit of blood dripping from her nose as she stares at Rika, and doesn't notice her hand is in her soup without holding any bread.

Alice giggles at the sight, then helps Shanghai and Hourai cut their servings of meat to a size they can eat by themselves.

* * *

Meanwhile, while the meal is being enjoyed by the Makaians and their guests at Pandemonium, over at the gate to Gensokyo, a little karakasa youkai has just entered through said gate and has started moving toward the city, looking for Rika and deliver a message.

It doesn't take Kogasa long to reach the city, but instead of following Ail's instructions, she decides to land right in front of the awful Shinki statue in the center of the city, seeing as her curiosity has taken the best of her.

Gazing upon such glorious monstrosity, Kogasa gasps with admiration and says "wow, that must be miss Shinki. S-she's looks a little more intimidating than I thought."

Just as she says that, the left nostril spews out fire, making her scream and jump back out of fright, tumbling backward and bumping against the back of someone quite large.

The large muscled creature with yellow skin with short red hair, red eyes, and wearing a sleeveless open black vest and jeans, looks back at the nervous karakasa and gruffly says "hey, watch it you... whoever you are."

Kogasa stammers nervously for a bit until she manages to say "um, um, I'm sorry, I was... that statue started spitting fire, and I-", and that's when she notices what the Makaian and a few other of his sibling were doing.

They have a large screen under a small roof, eating cookies and watching the dinner party over at Pandemonium.

The screen shows Shinki most of the time and after looking at her for a bit, Kogasa says "but she doesn't look so scary."

The large being beside her laughs, pats her back so hard, the poor karakasa is bent forward, then happily says "lady Shinki isn't scary at all! Well... at least when she's not mad. We are watching this dinner party of hers because she asked us to, but all we've seen is them eating alongside the evil Rika."

Kogasa gasps and angrily says "hey, Rika isn't evil!"

All the Makaians there, turn their attention to Kogasa, who is hyperventilating while her cheeks turn red with rage and looks around with scowled eyes.

She lays her eyes on one particular blonde demon-girl dressed in red and black; the same one that recognized Rika's white blood the day before, named Lemia; then says "Rika is a very nice and kind person who treats everyone with respect and kindness!"

Lemia looks back at Kogasa with curiosity and asks "wait, you're a youkai and you are defending a white blood? Kid, I hate to brake it to ya' but white blooded beings like her hunt and purify creatures like you and me."

All the Makaians nod and agree, making Kogasa wave her hands around rapidly while shouting "no, no, no, NO! You don't know her! Rika is very nice to all of us youkai, and there is this demon girl that calls her 'onee-chan' too, and, and Rika treats her just like she would treat a human!"

The Makaians don't look too convinced, so Kogasa continues "l-look, she even SAVED a vampire and me from her own blood! She cut her finger once and she didn't let me help cure her because she said I could get hurt."

Kogasa starts pondering for a moment, then says "of course, I didn't understand then, but she was nice enough to explain it to me."

The large yellow-skinned Makaian chuckles, then says "look, don't defend that evil woman with fake stories. She tried to steal our mother, and that's all the proof I need to know that she's evil!"

The Makaians nod and agree, and that's when Kogasa waves both hand and feet and shouts "you are the evil ones that made Rika-sis cry!"

The Makaians look at the karakasa youkai with confusion and curiosity, then Kogasa hands over to them a pack of pictures she pulls out of her left pocket.

The blonde Makaian stares at them, then Kogasa says "look! There is proof! Picture of Rika-sis protecting me from her blood, and hanging out with that demon girl, and giving me food! Look!"

One picture shows Rika desperately holding up her right hand with her index finger held high, trying to keep the blood away from Kogasa, who seems to want to reach it and wrap it in bandages.

Another shows Rika laughing with Koakuma and another one of the shrine maid patting the red haired little demon's head.

Another shows Rika serving meals to Kogasa, as well as other youkai and a pair of vampires that had visited the shrine.

Before turning to the next picture, Kogasa says "you see? I don't know how the heck you got the idea that Rika-sis was stealing your mother, but the truth speaks louder, and Rika-sis would first cut her own wings before stealing anybody's mom!"

The Makaians keep looking at the pictures, and all, even Lemia, seem to be having second thoughts about Rika.

The yellow-skinned Makaian groans softly, then says "but... Yumeko said Rika was evil. That she was putting a spell on mom with these glowing meat buns."

Kogasa makes a rude sound with her lips, spitting out some saliva around, then says "those meat buns? Didn't you try them? They are the **BEST**! Sis put a spell on them that make them taste like the tastiest thing you very tasted in your life!"

The Makaians look confused at each other, then suddenly, a being that looks like a thin green stick with two blue eyeballs for a head and thin long green fingers points at the television screen and says "hey, look! Lady Shinki's about to speak!"

Lemia, the yellow-skinned being, their other brothers and sisters, and now Kogasa as well, all turn their attention to the screen, where Shinki is standing in front of the table with a stern, yet tired look on her face.

* * *

Over at Pandemonium, just outside the dining room, two unlikely intruders, a black haired shrine maiden in red and white, Reimu Hakurei, and a blue haired celestial with a very handy sword, Tenshi Hinanai, are enjoying a bit of the meal they somehow manage to steal from inside.

Floating while holding their bowls and eating their soups, Tenshi nudges Reimu with her left elbow and says "see, I told you this food was good."

As the celestial gulps down the last of her soup, Reimu sighs happily after having finished her own soup and says "I guess I owe you a meal when we get back home. Still, it was my stealth that got us these, so..."

Before Reimu can continue, Tenshi looks back at Reimu as though she's been insulted, then says "well it was my sword that saved you from the trap on the window."

Reimu grunts inward, she knows she can't argue that point, so she skillfully changes the subject by asking "think they'll be mad that we took so many plates?"

Tenshi and Reimu now look at the large stack of empty plates, trays, bowls and mugs neatly placed on the window's arc, while Tenshi says "nah, it's just what... Fifteen, twenty meals the most."

Reimu chuckles, then says "I guess you're right."

The girls realize the room inside is suddenly very quiet, and that a small demon maid has come to pick up the plates these two intruders have licked clean, though they all ignore each other, and the maid just goes about her business as usual.

After the little demon is gone, Reimu and Tenshi look inside and see the tables have been cleared of all the plates, cups and utensils, and that Shinki is standing up while looking around.

Curious, Tenshi whispers "what's going on now?"

Reimu shushes her, then whispers "I think she's about to give a speech of sorts."

* * *

Inside the room, Shinki waits for all her children to notice her and quiet down.

While she waits, she looks seriously at Shikieiki, who bows her head just slightly, then Shinki nods back in acknowledgment.

After everyone's eyes are on Shinki, she takes a deep breath, looks sternly at her children, then says "my children and honored guests, I hope you have enjoyed this meal. Now, let it be known that this gathering was not for just a simple dinner."

The goddess throws a stern glance at all her children, ending with Yumeko, who twitches in place but growls inward.

Shinki knows her children still do not understand anything, and what's more, none regret what happened the day before, evident when she notices the dirty looks shot at Rika from several of the Makaians.

Shinki sighs, then says "I brought you all here, and asked those that did not wish to come to watch from their homes so that I may tell you something very important... Something you all ought to know."

The goddess of Makai closes her eyes, takes a deep breath, then her face looks as though she is now reminiscing in the past, then loudly says "I am going to tell you all a story, so please listen well..."

* * *

_"There was once a young girl that lived surrounded by a family who loved her, a family that had selected her as their next leader._

_ These were people of greatness, and this girl was to lead them with kindness and love._

_ The girl suffered needlessly during her childhood, and just as she found peace in both soul and body, her parents leave her through an unfortunate accident, trying to save her from sharing their fate. _

_Yet they failed, and this young girl stood between life and death, but a Yama took notice of her, explored her life, saw all the needless suffering she went through, and this mighty being took sympathy on the girl. _

_The Yama saw something else, something unexpected; she saw how pure this girl's soul was, how amazingly bright her light was, but also saw chained darkness inside; chained so as not to taint the light of this little one's soul._

_ Amazed by this pure soul, the Yama though that it would be a waste to let such a being die, to take her away from that corrupt world, to not allow her the chance to shine her light and allow those who seek salvation to escape the darkness from such dark and corrupt world, to make the world itself a brighter place to live in._

_ This Yama wants to save her life, and so asks the Yama of that world to spare the girl, and explains how this girl could be a great asset in recovering that, and any other world she might end up in. _

_This other Yama doesn't comply, and the concerned Yama soon learns that the only way this young girl could be spared is that she becomes even more of a holy being._

_ The Yama had the answer, but not the means to do such a thing, so regret takes the mighty being as it seems this pure soul will be lost, but hope soon fills the Yama as soon as she remembers something._

_She knows of a goddess that would be more than willing to assist in saving this girl, especially after considering who this goddess met, and what was promised by her. _

_The Yama approaches the goddess with her dilemma, and this goddess quickly agrees to help, and by pouring a few drops of her own blood into this girl's very veins, this girl becomes holy and bright enough to take that world's Yama's attention, and so be spared from death. _

_The goddess was now allowed to visit the girl every year to make sure to make this girl's life is more bearable, but was not allowed to reveal herself to said girl. _

_The reason for this was so that the girl could grow stronger, so that she could carry on with her life and shine her light, to impact others with her own bright soul and make the world a better place, even if done so in a subtle manner. _

_After this girl came of age, just as that Yama and the goddess wanted, she was sent to another world, a paradise for the girl, a world where she would experience friendship and love by many, and that she could be appreciated for what she was worth._

_ This girl, even with the many conflicts and dangers of this paradise, is living in happiness, where she deserves to be; where anyone deserves to be! This girl... who has found her paradise after so many unfair and hard trials, has never been happier."_

_

* * *

_

After finishing her story, Shinki takes a deep breath, and after a long exhale, she opens her eyes to meet a lot of astonished faces, all staring straight at her.

Even over at the city, the Makaians and the little karakasa youkai that accompanies them share the same astonishment.

Over at the dining room, Shinki looks around at all these faces, then notices Shikieiki's face to be the only one filled with nostalgia as though she's reminiscing about the past in her mind.

Shinki sighs, then looks at Rika with a warm motherly face, snapping Rika from her astonishment and making her blush.

Outside the dining room, while Tenshi looks sternly at Shinki, Reimu seems to be lost in thought, apparently trying to connect this story, and when it seems she's got it, she smiles and whispers to herself "oohhh, I see~."

Inside the dining room, while Shinki keeps her eyes locked on Rika's, she takes a deep breath and says "and that girls is sitting right between us, and she happens to be looking back at me with quite an adorable blush on her face."

All the Makaians express their shock as loudly as they can and immediately set their shocked faces at Rika, who doesn't even notice they are looking at her as she keeps her eyes locked straight on Shinki's.

Of all the Makaians, Yumeko seems to have taken this revelation quite hard, her eyes trembling and ready to shed tears as her mouth is kept wide open.

As she stares at Shinki and Rika, she thinks "sh-she has mother's blood? But how; b-but... why didn't I feel this? Why did I... What the hell have I done?"

Yumeko now joins her closest sister in staring at Rika in shock, and although Yuki and Alice don't really seem that surprised, they still can't help but stare at Rika.

Inside her mind, the shrine maid starts piecing together certain events that occurred while she was living in the future world she grew up in.

Still in shock, Rika instinctively pulls out her Saboten Stock from her left pocket, and without even looking at it, she pushes the button and takes out two small golden boxes from inside.

Almost trembling and with glassy eyes, Rika opens one of the boxes, revealing it's a music box that plays a calming song that seems to soothe the spirit, and says "Wh-White Sakura".

She stares at Shinki with a blank face as she raises the open music box to present it to the goddess, and Shinki, retaining her motherly smile, nods in acknowledgement.

Rika trembles a bit as she remembers herself, being younger and in a playground during winter, wearing a thick yellow coat, a red cap with a black puff on the tip, black pants, and thick black cross laced boots, sitting on a cold stone bench all by herself because the other children refuse to play with her.

To her left, several children play on snow-covered swings and teeter-totters, to her right others play a simple game of Duck-Duck-Goose and others slide down the snow-covered slides, and right behind her, a group of girls play with dolls on makeshift houses made of snow, all laughing and giggling amongst themselves.

Rika remembers herself as she was just about to break down to cry out of loneliness, but that's when a figure cloaked in dark red robes approaches her right, gives her the music box, then says "_don't give up little girl. Don't let their rejection get to you, as you are the most beautiful flower in this snow._", revealing to be a woman because of her voice.

These words make the little girl smile and giggle.

Little Rika dries up her own tears with her left forearm, and when she opens her eyes to thank the cloaked woman, she realizes the woman is gone, but her memory forever remains.

* * *

Returning from her past thoughts, Rika, who is still in a state of shock, closes the first music box, picks up the second one, then opens it up, making it play a beautiful tune filled with hope, peace, and a sense of warmth, and says "Happy Birthday."

A tear trails down Rika's left cheek as she blankly presents it to Shinki, who once again nods with that motherly smile on her face, making Rika smile back and shed a second tear that trails down her right cheek, making a twin for the trail still marked on her left cheek.

Again, Rika's mind drifts to the past, where she remembers being alone inside her room during her birthday.

She has a small white-framed bed sitting to the left of the room, with white and pink plaid sheets, a light-yellow pillow, and a single stuffed bear to the right of the pillow.

Although this room is clearly the room of a young girl, with its walls and roof painted in pastel colors, other than the stuffed bear on the bed, there is nothing else, no toys, dolls, nothing other than a chrome desk on the right wall next to the door, and on it is a single potted plant with a blue flower bud that seems just about ready to bloom.

To the left of this plant is a box of coloring pencils and many scattered drawings of flowers, trees, and families living happily in little homes that always seem to have a large flower garden around them.

That day, though being young Rika's birthday, she was all alone as all those that cared for her were busy with their jobs, just like past years, though that year Rika felt alone, and just about ready to break again.

She sits on the side of her bed and looks down to her feet, closes her burning teary eyes, sniffle, and when she opens them again, that same cloaked figure is standing right in front of her, holding out her hand and offering another music box.

As young Rika accepts the box, picking it with her right hand, the figure says "_never give up little one. Always follow what you feel is right, and you will be able to reach the sky one day._"

The cloaked woman bends down, Rika closes her eyes, the woman kisses little Rika on the forehead, and when Rika opens her eyes again, the woman is gone.

Even though the woman is gone, the memory remains engraved in Rika's mind forever.

Just as Rika returns from her memories, she finds herself back inside the dining room with Alice, Shikieiki, and all the Makaians surrounding her, but more surprisingly, Shinki is now embracing Rika the same way a mother would embrace her child, and combing the shrine maid's hair with her fingers, Shinki feels how Rika trembles and sobs silently on her left shoulder.

* * *

Outside the dining room, Reimu and Tenshi both glare at Shinki, Tenshi biting her thumb while growling, and Reimu simply tapping her gohei on her left hand.

Reimu narrows her eyes as she stares at Shinki, then sinisterly says "yeah, that's right. You keep hugging her like that... while you can"

Tenshi growls and adds "that should be me down there."

Reimu turns her eyes to Tenshi, then says "you would try, and I would kill you."

Inside the large room, Rika breaks free from Shinki's hug, making the goddess blush when she realizes she may have overdone it a bit.

With a bright smile on her face, Rika bows to Shinki and says "lady Shinki, I thank you... from the bottom of my heart, thank you for all that you have done for me! I really don't know if I'll ever be able to thank you properly for everything, but... Thank you so very much!"

Unable to contain herself, Shinki throws her left arm around Rika's shoulder, pulls her close and tight, then she raises her right hand in the air as she declares "and so, my jealous little children, let it be known that from this day forth, Rika Onkamikami is welcome in Makai, and she is to be treated as one of our own! She is, in a manner of speaking, your half sister, and so should be treated in kind. And now that you all know the truth, you will accept her as you have accepted Alice! Am I right?"

Shinki winks at her children and the cameras, and can see and feel all of her Makaian children, including Alice, Shanghai and Hourai, swelling up with emotions as they look back at Rika and Shinki with longing eyes.

Rika can feel her own happiness swelling up, and as she bows her head to Shinki, she smiles as she thinks "this is... this is great. I actually have a... a family now. I'm not alone anymore!"

Rika suddenly stops smiling, gently breaks away from thinki, and looks at Shikieiki with wonder, starts walking around the table to reach the Yama, then feels a hand grab on to her wrist and pull her away.

Alice has grabbed Rika's left wrist, and as she pulls Rika away from Shiki and Shinki, she says "come with me for a moment."

Rika looks confused as she follows Alice, then says "but wait, I need to ask something to miss Eiki."

Alice smiles, then says "don't worry, she'll be here for a while. Besides, this is important."

Rika looks at Alice's smile, then looks ahead of them to see that Yumeko, Mai, Luize, Sara, Shanghai, Hourai, Yuki, and all of the Makaians that joined them in the dining room are all standing in a huge bunch, similar to the time when they threatened her, only this time, instead of murderous faces, she sees regretful smiles and frowns.

Once she and Alice are right in front of Yumeko, Alice says "alright Yumeko, go ahead."

Rika looks at Alice while she speaks, then turns to look at Yumeko, who blushes bashfully while fiddling with her fingers and looking around the room, as though looking for somewhere to hide.

The Makaian maid clears her throat, straightens herself up, looks straight at Rika with intensity in her eyes, then calmly says "R-Rika... o-on behalf of my brothers and sisters... and myself, of course... I want to apologize."

After Yumeko says this, her brothers and sisters start nodding in assent, some sniffling, and Mai looking away to try and hide her tears of regret.

Before Rika can speak, Sara says "we should have noticed from the start that you were one of us! We are so ashamed!"

Luize immediately adds "we're so sorry for everything! We just thought you were... um, taking... taking mom away from us, and..."

Shanghai flies to Luize's right, slaps her cheek, then says "that's for being an idiot."

Shanghai turns her head to notice Rika raising her right arm as though asking her to stop, then Rika says "it's alright. Please don't punish them. They were just protecting their mother after all. But it's alright. I forgive you all, and, if you'll accept me, I'd love nothing more than to consider you all as my brothers and sisters too."

Some Makaians gasp in surprise, others lower their heads in shame, and Yumeko, being the strong being that she is, approaches Rika, lifts her right hand to waist-height, then smiles and says "from now and forever, you are our adoptive Makai sister, just like Alice."

Rika smiles, raises her own right arm, then both she and Yumeko grab each other's forearms and tighten their grip, causing the Makaians to cheer "welcome home sis!"

The moment they grip each other, Rika's sword changes to its colorful state, and right after it does, the jewel on the hilt starts glowing an intense pink that rapidly surrounds everyone inside the palace, the light going so far as to escape through all of the dining room's windows.

Over at the city, the large yellow-skinned Makaian has Kogasa in a deathly hug as he cries and says "you were right little youkai! Rika wasn't taking mom, she was just trying to come home!"

Lemia approaches the bulky being, taps his forearm with her finger, then says "you're suffocating her."

The bulky man gasps and says "oh, sorry.", releasing one dizzy karakasa youkai and her one-eyed umbrella, and letting them fall sprawled on the ground, where she breaths some fresh air.

Lemia helps Kogasa up on her feet, dusts her dress, arranges the lose strands of hair on the karakasa's head, then hands her the eggplant-colored umbrella while saying "you are one of the very few youkai we can trust, so know that you are also welcome here in Makai."

Dizzy, Kogasa smiles as she replies "yee-yay. I can... world spins so... happy."

* * *

Back at the dining room, Rika is just about to try and reach Shikieiki once again, so she bows to all of the Makaians in front of her and says "please excuse me, but I need to ask something of-"

She stops from finishing her sentence when she notices all the Makaians, and even Alice, Shanghai and Hourai, who sit on Alice's shoulders, are all scowling and frowning at Rika.

Before the nervous Rika can ask what is wrong, Yumeko crosses her arms as she sternly asks "aren't you forgetting something?"

Rika ponders for a moment, holding her chin with her right hand, then suddenly gasps, snaps her fingers, smile, then bows again and says "please excuse me my brothers and sisters, but I need to speak to miss Shiki about something important."

Smiling along with the rest of her brothers and sister, Yumeko bows and looks on as Rika turns around and almost skips merrily toward the Yama.

Alice approaches the Makaian maid and asks "so? How do you feel?"

Alice now notices Yumeko is standing stiff, her arms are trembling, and she seems to be holding herself back from crying.

Sounding stressed, Yumeko replies "how the hell do you think I feel? I attacked her, set our brothers and sisters against her, cornered her, frightened her, and I almost spilled her blood... my own blood... mom's blood."

Yumeko turns her face to Alice, showing a stressful smile as she lets her tears of regret roll down her cheeks, then says "then mom drops this bomb on all of us like that. I... *sniffle* I feel terrible!"

Alice sighs, not used to seeing one of her strongest sisters crying like that, then says "well, I hope you'll listen to me next time."

Yumeko stares daggers at Alice as she asks "wait, you knew about this?"

Alice nervously backs away and says "whoa, whoa, I didn't know. I just usually have a pretty good intuition about things sometimes. Oh?"

Alice notices the rest of the Makaians are either sniffling or letting out their tears, then says "oh, come on! She already forgave you all, so what are you crying about?"

Almost crying, Luize says "well you didn't almost blast her to oblivion, or called her names!"

Alice sighs, thinks what to say next, then says "well, at least she survived, and she's a strong and kind-to-a-fault person. Besides, we now have one more sister, so we should be smiling, rather than crying and regretting what's been done already."

That's when Shanghai suddenly hops on her feet on Alice's left Shoulder and loudly says "yes! Now we are even more of a family! Rika is now our auntie too. So we should all be smiling, and happy and... oh wait, if mama Alice gets a grandma, that means we get a great grandma. Oh, and she should get a brother, so we can call him uncle! Oh, and how about a fa-"

Alice grabs Shanghai, covers her little mouth with her hand, and smiles as a vein pulsates on her forehead and says "stop right there before you make it worse, little lady!"

That's when Hourai stands up on Alice right shoulder, raises her little left arm, open her mouth, then suddenly sweat, gasps, and sits against Alice's neck and sulks.

Mai points at the little girl and asks "what's wrong with her?"

Alice sweats as she smiles nervously, then gently combs Hourai's head with her right hand as she says "she forgot what she was about to say."

Mai, Sara and Yumeko look at each other, then Mai asks "are you sure she's not Yuki's daughter?"

Yuki is completely distracted while looking at the window there Tenshi and Reimu should be hiding, but seeing that, apparently, there is nothing there, Mai shrugs and asks "see what I mean?"

* * *

Meanwhile, Rika returns to the table, where Shikieiki and Shinki are having a conversation amongst themselves, and as soon as she approaches them, the goddess and the Yama stop their conversation and look at her curious and determined face.

Rika quickly bows and says "pardon my intrusion, but I want to ask something to miss Shiki, if I may!"

Shiki and Shinki look at each other curiously, and when Shikieiki returns her sight to Rika, Shinki chuckles and says "I'll be talking to my children over there. Call me if you need anything."

After Shinki leaves, Shikieiki sits down on her chair again and asks "what is it, Rika?"

The shrine maid takes a deep breath, thinks hard before speaking, then looks at Shikieiki with a courageous face, then asks "miss Eiki, you are the Yama of this world, right?"

Shikieiki looks a little confused as she nods in assent, then Rika continues "and you are the Yama miss Shinki spoke of in that story, right?"

Again, Shikieiki nods, and as if asking Rika to hurry with her question, she roughly says "that is correct."

Rika takes another deep breath, fills herself up with courage, then asks "then, will all due respect, could you please tell me what is this darkness that lurks inside of me, that refuses to leave me?"

This question hits Shikieiki harder than she ever though it would.

Her face can't hide the fact that she is shocked and saddened by such question as she thinks "of all the questions she can ask, and of all the times to choose. I hoped she never asked about it, but I guess it's just inevitable..."

The Yama recovers herself, stares sternly at Rika, and with authority and kindness in her voice, Shikieiki asks "are you sure you want to know?"

Rika's eyes glisten as she nods rapidly at Shikieiki, so the Yama points at the chair next to herself, signals Rika to sit, and right after Rika sits down, Eiki says "in order for you to understand this, I am going to have to reveal some more of your past. Do you believe yourself ready for this?"

Again, Rika's eyes glistens as she courageously nods, then Shikieiki sighs long and hard, then looks into Rika's eyes.

Shiki takes a deep breath, then looks at Rika and says "listen well to this story, Rika Onkamikami..."

* * *

_"A long time ago, in the center of a compound belonging to a most heightened clan, a woman was giving birth to the child who would become the clan's next leader._

_ Many clan members were waiting for her birth, but none were ready for her coming. _

_The child was born, healthy and strong, and her soul shone brightly, signs of the true leader of the Onkamikami. _

_However, unlike her mother, her father, her brethren, this child was born without wings. _

_The clan didn't care, as they could see the purity of this child's soul, but like always, there were those who disagreed. _

_Though the child was destined to lead the Onkamikami to a prosperous age, because of her lack of wings, she was considered by other clans of the age, a defect, a sign of a curse for the Onkamikami made flesh, they even went as far as to call her a fallen angel. _

_Those went as far as to suggest the child be sacrificed. _

_Her parents did not want this for their child, so they decided to move away from their country and hide as a normal human family, so that their child could grow in peace, and then they would return home the day their daughter was old enough to take the role as leader of the Onkamikami._

_ To their disgrace, the resentful clans chased after them and tried to rid of the girl by themselves._

_ They would make her life a living hell whenever they had the chance, and her parents feared she would grow to be a hateful being, a ruthless leader, but were surprised when they learned how strong their child really was. _

_She kept to the family teachings: hatred only breed hatred; anger only leads to the path of sorrow._

_ By keeping those words in her heart, she was able to keep strong, but unknown to the girl and her parents, all that frustration and rage was being taken into the bottoms of her forgetfulness, but everything has its limits, and energy that dark is hard to contain, let alone get rid of. _

_Even with that girl's one and only friend, the darkness was swelling. _

_Just before that darkness inside the girl took control, the family was elevated and sent to Heaven, where they all hoped the hatred and attacks would stop._

_ The attacks did stop, but the hatred was still there, and even with her friend there, whom elevated just as the Onkamikami did, it was just not enough, and the family, desperate for their daughter's well being, looked for the Yama of that time and begged to be placed somewhere where they could finally be in peace, and the Yama obliged._

_ They were taken to the far future, where nobody knew of them and treated them as part of the community, just what their daughter needed, but their peace was short lived. _

_A terrible tragedy befell the family in the form of a war that broke out in a very sudden manner, and the mother and father used all their power to protect their child in hopes that she could live the happy life denied to her in the past, but the price in doing so was steep. _

_The child lost all memory, as though reborn again, and although she had a much better life in comparison, she still had to endure some hardships, and that darkness in her awoke once more."_

_

* * *

_

After finishing the story, Shikieiki looks at Rika and asks "so... do you understand now?"

Rika's head hangs low, preventing Eiki from looking at her, but when Rika raises her head, the Yama is surprised.

There is sadness in Rika's face, but nothing suggests she's deeply affected by this, and with a sigh of relief, Shikieiki says "oh, I am impressed. And here I was worried that you learning this truth would affect you more, yet you seem to be alright."

Rika places her right hand on her own chest, takes a deep breath, then says "I understand now. This darkness in me is actually keeping me from losing who I am, right miss Shiki?"

Shikieiki nods, then says "but it's still strong, and if you allow it, it can take over your body. It's already happened once, but thanks to the love for your friends and your mistress, you were able to defeat it and push it back once more."

Rika looks away, as though trying hard to think, then asks "so I lost my memories when I was saved?"

Shikieiki stares at Rika and immediately realizes the shrine maid knows something she isn't saying, and her suspicions are proven correct when Rika asks "are they lost... or sealed?"

Shikieiki nods once, then Rika's face becomes stern and resolute, then asks "if you are willing to, and you can, would you return my memories of me if I asked?"

Shikieiki winces at the request, then immediately replies "yes, I can, but... understand that they were sealed for a reason. Rika, these memories aren't pleasant, not in the slightest! You could lose yourself to them!"

With determination in her eyes, Rika grabs Shikieiki's hands, holds them between her own, then says "please, I-", but before she can say any more, she feels a hand place itself on her right shoulder.

When Rika looks back, she sees Yumeko looking at her with worry as she says "we just found out that you are our sister! Please, don't cast us aside like this!"

Shinki stands next to Yumeko, sharing the same face of concern, and that's when Rika notices all the Makaians are truly concerned for her.

From the window, Reimu whispers "Rika, listen to them. Don't do something foolish now."

Tenshi adds "she has that face. When she has that face, there's just no going back for her. Just like you, she can be so darned stubborn."

Reimu smacks Tenshi on the back of the neck and says "you're right about that, but that's something I don't want to hear from YOU!"

Back inside the dining room, Rika is smiling warmly at the Makaians as she glances at them, then stops when she locks eyes with Shinki and says "I will not change. I will be Rika, as always!"

She turns to face Shikieiki with that determined look on her, then says "please, miss Shiki, I want to remember. I understand your unrest, but I promise you, I will not lose myself."

Shikieiki looks into Rika's eyes, hesitates for a moment, then closes her eyes and says "very well. You have proven yourself so far, so I will unlock those memories. Just know what you are asking may be too much, and quite painful. Still, are you sure about this?"

Rika nods, still holding on to that determination in her eyes, then Shikieiki sighs and nods.

* * *

Still hesitating, Shikieiki raises her left hand and aims it at Rika, but nothing happens.

Rika can see the Yama doesn't want to do this, and that she is doing it because the request was strong.

The shrine maid thinks about telling the Yama to stop, but doing that would probably dishonor her brave request, so she decides to stay quiet.

Finally, Shikieiki closes her eyes, her hand glows bright yellow, and for a while, it seems like nothing is happening, though Shinki knows something is, but keeps silent with the hopes that it will not be as bad as she thinks.

Shikieiki focuses, making sure to open the seal slowly, allowing the memories to flow at an even pace, progressing with each passing moment, then opens her eyes to look at Rika.

The shrine maid is smiling, obviously remembering pleasant memories, but that smile slowly turns into a frown and her eyes start filling with sadness.

Shikieiki signals Shinki with her eyes, and the Makai goddess promptly asks "Rika, are you alright?"

Rika doesn't answer, and now her face, from a sad expression, turns to fright, and the shrine maid is now lifting her hands and placing them on the sides of her head.

Shinki reaches for Rika, but jumps back the moment the shrine maid lets out a loud grunt, and very suddenly Rika starts to scream.

Shinki calls for Rika, but the girl is now flapping her wings hard as she screams loud and without stop toward the ceiling, holding her ears with her hands and closing her eyes as though trying to escape from an unseen terror.

Finally, after screaming so much and so loudly, she runs out of breath, but continues to open her mouth as though trying to scream more.

Yumeko, Mai, Luize, Sara and all the Makaians present start shouting at the same time, begging Shikieiki to stop, but their shouts sounds like a joint babble.

Rika drops to her knees as she continues her attempts to scream more, and now her face starts turning blue when her body starts demanding fresh oxygen.

Shinki rushes to the shrine maid and holds her by the shoulders and shouts "Rika! Rika, look at me!"

Shinki turns her head to look at Shikieiki and shouts "Lady Eiki, Stop it! It's too much!"

Shikieiki looks back with a pained and tired face, lowers her hand, and says "it's too late, the seal is broken. There is nothing I can do now!"

Shinki turns back to Rika and calls for her, however useless her attempts are, then turns her attention toward the back of the room when her children gasp in surprise.

* * *

Somewhere in a deep and endless darkness, Rika finds herself falling head-first to nowhere, weak and unable to stop herself from continuing her rapid descent.

She opens her eyes and realizes that she has a white glow surrounding her, and seems to be protecting her form the cold embrace of the darkness around her, and with a pitiful smile on her face, Rika says to herself "how stupid. I ended up losing myself after all. And after saying I wouldn't."

Rika continues to fall, and to her, it seems like at least an hour or two have passed, and she just continues to fall into nothingness, but then she suddenly starts remembering something.

In her mind, she can see Reimu, Tenshi, Ail, Kogasa, Koakuma, Hatate, and Youmu.

She smiles as she remembers them and says to herself "ah, my little sisters, my sisterly rival, my big brother... and miss Reimu and Tenshi. Oh, what have I done? I'm so sorry, but it looks like I won't be able to see you again."

Something ticks inside Rika's mind, and she can read the words "worthless quitter", written in bright red right in front of her.

Rika looks around herself, wondering where that came from, and before she asks , the words "pitiful disgrace" write themselves in bright yellow right before her eyes.

Rika scowls and shouts "who the hell do you think you are?"

Rika can now feel her speed decrease, but again, before she can even comment, the words "maybe I'll take over and destroy those you hold dear" write themselves in pastel-yellow in front of Rika's eyes, then Rika shouts "show yourself!"

Her speed decreases again, but Rika is concerned in finding the source of such horrible words to notice, and now, instead of just written words, Rika hears a familiar voice that sends chills down her spine; the raspy and dark voice of a woman she fears.

This woman loudly says "and why not. After all, they are probably pretending to be your friends. Heck, that Ail looks more inclined to get under your skirt than actually care for you."

Out of righteous rage, Rika flips over, slows down to a halt and shouts "you! You leave them alone!"

The voice immediately replies "oh, so you think you can stop me when YOU'RE the one lost in the darkness. How rich."

Rika suddenly feels herself land on something solid, but there is nothing under her feet, but she has no time for that and unsheathes her sword while looking around and shouting "I'll never let you!"

She takes one step forward, and under her feet, a bright light startles Rika with its shine, rapidly consuming the darkness beneath her feet and spreading around at a rapid pace until she finds herself in a world with a black, cloudless sky, and a beautiful garden with a small river flowing right between two beds of red tulips, and beautiful bushy trees all around on the ground.

She looks with amazement at her surroundings, lowering her guard after relaxing herself to such a beautiful sight, and when she looks forward, she scowls, bends her knees, raises her sword, then growls inward.

Several feet ahead of Rika is herself, only this other self has dark skin, black wings, purple glowing eyes, a belt with four swords, two on each side, and a vicious, blood-thirsty smile.

Without raising her guard, dark Rika looks back at Rika and says "you screwed up. Now it's my turn. Drown in the darkness while I take over your life and destroy the illusion you created for yourself!"

Rika wants to reply, but another memory reaches her, making her wince as though in pain, then dark Rika smiles and says "you just saw some more, didn't you? That past that you, yourself, question to this day."

Rika grits her teeth in response, so Dark Rika raises her own sword, but just grins back at Rika.

* * *

Dark Rika takes a long and deep breath, then exhales, and with a vile and wide smile on her face, she says "you kept on clinging to those stupid. goody-goody ideals from the very beginning, even though you were spat on, called those hideous names, and even got beaten! FOR WHAT?"

Dark Rika takes a step forward, now looking sternly back at Rika as she says "you are a fake, bound by these worthless ideals your entire life. You never fought back, you never defended yourself, but that is because you knew back then, and you still know it! You are a FAKE! That is who you REALLY are! Haven't you realized that yet?"

Rika looks down to the ground in front of her feet with her eyes cast under a dark shadow, starts to shiver, then without warning, she rushes toward her dark self, her eyes filled with righteous fury and shouting "**LIAAAAAR~!**"

Unfazed, Dark Rika charges forward with her sword on hand, ready to strike her light self into submission, and immediately attacks as soon as she and Rika are next to each other.

Left, right, skyward slashes, downward thrusts, kicks, forward thrusts, the girls match every single move the other makes, and while attacking with passion, Dark Rika asks "are you sure you really want to continue as you are?"

She tries another downward thrust which Rika blocks with ease as she shouts back "I do want to carry on as I am!", then slashes upward with all her might, matching her dark self's attack and shouting "and I will!"

They exchange matched blows again and again, then Dark Rika suddenly says "I thought so...", then swings her sword sideways, matching Rika again, and says "that is the sole reason you keep going, after all!"

After pushing her dark self back with a sudden kick to her abdomen, Rika furiously asks "what did you say?"

Dark Rika smiles again, then quickly rushes forward once again while shouting "you are simply in awe, little girl!"

She suddenly pushes Rika back with a quick sideway swing of her dark sword, then points it at Rika as she says "your ideals came from your ancestors, ideals that left you in awe, inspired of the way they lived back then! You just want to mimic them, to be just like them, but I got news for you, girl..."

Dark Rika rushes forth again, and while attacking Rika as fast a she can, she shouts "**YOU ARE NOT THEM**! You are a mere SHADOW of their former glory, and you simply borrowed their ideals because you lacked you **OWN**!"

Rika reacts by moving faster and responding to Dark Rika's attacks, deflecting them as she defiantly shouts back "you are WRONG!"

Dark Rika quickly recovers from the blow and attacks again while shouting "you have been driven by this misguided belief that you should do the best for others, so that they would respond in kind...!"

She assaults Rika relentlessly while continuing "not realizing how FLAWED those ancient beliefs are! You kept running forward without realizing something so damned obvious, getting beaten over and over, and getting **NOTHING** but pain in return!"

Her attacks intensify as she shouts "that wish for happiness to all... that is just a fairy tale that will never see the light of day!"

Dark Rika's attacks are now so fast, relentless and continuous, Rika can't find an opening for an attack, getting pushed back while Dark Rika furiously shouts "if you can't live on without such ridiculous dreams, then drown with them to your death!"

She continues her attack, pushing Rika back, then suddenly stops and waits for Rika to respond.

* * *

Rika kneels on the ground with her sword stabbed in front of her to keep herself from falling, and as she breathes heavily, she thinks "she... she's right. I kept believing in these teachings, I never stood up for myself when I should have, thinking my kindness would somehow rub on to those bullies or their hateful parents, but instead..."

Rika looks toward dark Rika as she thinks "they just kept coming back for more and more, and I just couldn't... I didn't do anything to defend myself! What was I thinking?"

A dark void opens under Rika and begins to consume her while she thinks "she's right. I've been doing everything wrong. I... I don't..."

A familiar voice suddenly echoes through the darkness, and when Rika hears this voice she opens her eyes and looks around, then asks "Ko-Kogasa?"

Kogasa's voice echoes all around Rika as she shouts "Rika-sis, don't give up! Be strong!"

Rika raises her head high, the darkness stops consuming her, then she shouts back "Kogasa, where are you?"

There is a pause for a moment before Kogasa's voice echoes around Rika again, saying "lady Byakuren sent me! She wanted me to tell you that she and all of us, we admire you! That you are so kind and sweet to others, that you are like this really beautiful light inside the darkest abyss, just like your ancestors! Rika-sis, never forget who you are, because you are someone very special, and I think that too! We all think that!"

Rika's mind is suddenly flooded with memories of Gensokyo, of all of those that have considered her as a friend and more.

The Scarlet Devil Mansion, the Myouren Temple, Eintei, The Moriya Shrine, Ail, Budou, Alice, Shanghai, Hourai, the Makaians and Shinki, all of them shine strongly in Rika's heart.

Dark Rika's smiles vanishes when the darkness under Rika becomes a bright light, then gasps with horror when Rika suddenly lunges forward, attacking relentlessly and shouting "I... won't... loose... to YOU!"

Dark Rika gets pushed back as she defends herself from Rika's attack, asking "you're still... what gives you this power?"

Continuing her fast and relentless attacks, Rika says "I don't mind losing to others. Heck, I have learned many things from my loses, but to lose to you, to myself... that is something I cannot allow!"

Dark Rika is surprised at how powerful her other half's attacks have become, and the only thing she can say is a frightened and pitiful "...you..."

With ever sword strike, Rika starts repeating "not wrong... not wrong..." then her voice suddenly rises when she says "I am not wrong!"

Frightened, Dark Rika nervously says "y-you know it won't come true! Stop fighting and give in!"

Hearing those words, Rika shouts back "**I AM NOT WRONG!**", then sparks start flying from Dark Rika's sword with every one of Rika's strikes.

* * *

Frightened, Dark Rika tries to run backward, hoping to escape Rika's attacks before her sword gets destroyed, but Rika isn't giving her the chance to escape and continues to attack, and Dark Rika can barely match Rika's moves and defend herself.

She unsheathes her second sword from her belt right after her first sword shatters, but Rika continues her attack, threatening to destroy the second dark sword, and almost immediately, she has to unsheathe her third sword and use both to defend herself.

Rika starts swinging with more might, carrying her will with every blow, and finally, she twirls in place to get momentum, then swings with such force, she sends dark Rika flying in the air, where both her second and third swords shatter to pieces.

After falling on her back, Dark Rika manages to push herself back up on her feet and keep herself from falling, then unsheathes her last sword and swings with all her might, making a powerful shockwave that causes the trees, flowers and even the little river to rattle when it collides with Rika's own sword.

Barely matching Rika's strikes, Dark Rika angrily says "that's the mistake **YOU** made!"

Rika swings her sword and almost strikes Dark Rika's face as she shouts "there's no way it's a mistake!"

As she attacks relentlessly once again, she shouts "Marisa, Sakuya, Patchouli, Meiling, Remilia, Byakuren, Kaguya, Keine, Kyo, Momiji, Alice, Yumeko, Shinki, Shikieiki, and so many others! They are my friends and love me for who I am! Koakuma, Kogasa, Youmu, Tenshi, Reimu, Hatate, Ail, everyone! They admire who I am and have constantly reminded me of it! If that is an illusion, then the entire world is as fake as you make it sound!"

Striking harder and pushing Dark Rika's hands around, Rika shouts "you're the only fake one here! Leave me and my friends in peace, you fake self!"

Dark Rika moans as she tries to defend herself from Rika's blows, and after Dark Rika groans and loosens the grip on her sword, Rika finds an opening and thrusts her sword straight into Dark Rika's chest.

Holding her sword while its stabbed through Dark Rika's chest, Rika says "it's my win."

Dark Rika smiles as she weakly replies "y... yeah... So I guess... it's my loss."

Rika now looks into her dark self's eyes, then gasps when she finally sees what she failed to see before.

Loneliness and sadness that go beyond anything Rika expected to see.

Rika pulls her sword out of Dark Rika's chest, allowing her to fall on her knees, then sighs and says "no matter what may await me in the future, I will not regret it. In fact... if it needs be, I will overcome it!"

Dark Rika continues to smile as she looks up at Rika, then starts disappearing as she says "indeed, or it would be a lie if you didn't."

Dark Rika's smile becomes peaceful, and just before disappearing, she says "come back to me when you do. Only then will I welcome and accept you."

Rika tries to reach for her dark self, to embrace her and give her comfort, but by the time she kneels down, her dark self disappears.

After hearing Dark Rika's last words, Rika looks up to the black sky and says "alright. That is a promise, and don't you forget it."

* * *

Back at Makai, inside Pandemonium's dining room, only about five minutes have passed since Rika's face finally relaxed, but remains kneeling on the ground with her head hanging low and her arms dangling in mid-air.

The Makaians surround her, Shinki, Shikieiki, Alice, Kogasa and Yumeko, as they call for Rika, trying to wake her up.

Kogasa looks at Shinki and worriedly asks "do you think she heard me?"

Yumeko glares at the karakas youkai and asks "who are you, and how did you get here again?"

Kogasa clenches her fists and her eyes and shouts "I told you, that big yellow guy threw me over here!", then calms down as she says "he's got pretty good aim. But that's not important now."

Shinki shushes the girls and angrily says "something's happening."

Shikieiki approaches Rika and opens her eyes wide in surprise as she asks "what in the world?"

From inside Rika's head, a concentration of dark energy emerges, and slowly starts taking the shape of a sword.

It takes about seven seconds for it to take solid form; taking the shape of a long Japanese sword the same size as her family sword; then falls to the ground right next to Rika, stabbing itself on the ground.

When this dark blade hits the ground, it vibrates and generates an eerie and sad song, then Shikieiki, staring at this sword, says "I don't know how she did it, but this girl just sealed the rest of her memories into that sword."

Kogasa and Yumeko turn to Shiki and asks in unison "does that mean she's alright?"

Shikieiki nods in assent, then she and all present in the room turn their attention to Rika and Shinki.

The goddess is embracing Rika as the shrine maid moans softly, and with a concerned motherly tone, Shinki says "it's alright, I'm here."

Rika manages to open her eyes just slightly, looks around at her friends, locks her eyes on Shinki, then softly says "thank you... so much.", then finally collapses on Shinki's embrace.

Before even Shikieiki can comment, Shinki carries Rika in her arms and says "I'm taking her to my room. Nobody but Rika's master may disturb us!"

Everyone, save Shikieiki, looks around in confusion, then Shinki rushes to the exit door, and after it opens up on its own, she says "they are hiding by the farthest left window! Treat them as guests!", then rushes right out of the room.

Just outside the window, Tenshi panics and shouts "that witch! She knew we were here the whole time!"

Reimu appears to be completely unfazed, but the bead of sweat rolling next to her sheepish smile reveals her surprise.

Reimu crosses her arms as she chuckles, then places her right hand behind her own head as she says "well, heh-heh, that was to be expected. No wonder we were able to get those plates so easily."

Tenshi, still panicking, shouts "what do we do now?"

Reimu causally flies inside through the window and calmly says "come on, I want to go talk to that goddess. Oh, she better have good answers, or I'm going lunatic on her head."

Tenshi just shrugs and sighs, then flies in after the shrine maiden.

* * *

When the Makaians see Reimu, almost half of them start screaming and running away, some going as far as screaming "the assassin maiden! RUUUUUN!"

After the room settles again, only a handful of Makaians remain, including Mai, Yuki, Yumeko, Sara and Luize, and of course, Alice, Shanghai and Hourai, who is still sulking on Alice's shoulder.

Alice is the first to approach Reimu and says "you reputation follows you all the way to Makai. I am very impressed."

Reimu smiles while a vein pulses on her forehead, then chuckles and says "don't push your luck."

Besides Reimu, Tenshi storms toward the Yama and demands "YOU! What the hell did you do to Rika?"

Shikieiki calmly replies "your tone is aggravating, celestial. Address me properly, or I'll have to do something about this. As to what I did to Rika, I simply honored her request. I unlocked her memories; some which she sealed in that sword that sits over there on the ground."

Tenshi rushes over to the sword that sits close to the table where Rika was sitting before almost losing herself to the darkness inside herself.

She reaches for the blade, then Shikieiki sternly says "I wouldn't do that! If you touch that sword, you will experience those memories as though they were your own. And unlike that girl, you'd succumb to them rather quickly."

Before Tenshi can open her mouth, Reimu storms between Tenshi and Shikieiki, then takes a deep breath and calmly asks "are they really that bad?"

Shikieiki lowers her head slightly, looks sternly at the maiden, then says "you have no idea."

Tenshi walks to Reimu's side to try and add something to the conversation, but Shiki raises her hand to stop the celestial and says "what you lived with her all those years ago, when you went by that other name, is only a small fraction of all that there is."

Reimu looks at Tenshi in disbelief and asks "you knew Rika before? B-but how? Ho-how old are you?"

Tenshi laughs to hide her embarrassment, pats Reimu on the back as hard as she can and says "shut up you!", but quickly winds down and sounding a bit sad, she says "but yeah... I knew Rika since a long time ago."

Reimu and the remaining Makaians look at Tenshi and Shikieiki with confusion, and that's when Shiki sighs, looks at Reimu very seriously, and asks "would you like me to show you an example?"

* * *

To be continued...

Characters, Spell Cards and Scenarios belong to ZUN -Team Shanghai Alice-

Ail, Budou, Kyo, Michiko, and other extra characters and scenarios were created by Willie G.R.

Rika Onkamikami, Dark Rika and Suzaku were created by Snapshot 2010

Original story by

Snapshot 2010

FEB 21 2011

Written by

Willie G.R.

* * *

**A/N:**

**Finally. This chapter really took me a while to write. First of all, I started writing a Touhou/Kingdom Hearts crossover (won't post it until after chapter 3 is completed), and when the first chapter was done, I started working on this. Those of you that are Kingdom Hearts (KH) fans may have noticed I wrote a scene similar to the popular Dive into Heart scenes from KH, and that's because I love and respect those games so much. Originally, the "Dive into Heart" was to be omitted, heck, Snapshot even removed it from the notes, but even so, I saw the chance and wrote it in when I found out that Snap HAD that idea in mind, but scratched it, and he even provided most of the dialogue for it too. Heh, coincidence? I don't believe in that. Still, I am glad I wrote it in, because the moment I started writing it, this chapter's process sped up to the point that I wrote the two paragraphs BEFORE the "Dive", and the entire "Dive" in one night! Yeah, I love KH and Touhou that much. Mixing in the two is an awesome experience for me. Oh, and I was told by my friend that what I wrote in the Dive scene is VERY similar to this new Fate/Stay Night movie, and yet, in all honesty, I've never even seen a single Fate/Stay Night movie. Heck, not even mangas. That similarity was purely coincidental (though I don't believe in coincidences), but whatever. It's there, I loved how it turned out, so I'm not changing it. Oh well, I'm just one step closer to finishing this spin-off, so please wish me luck in finishing this as quickly as possible. Not that I hate it, but I REALLY want to move on to action and whimsical/crazy stuff. Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Until next time.**


	4. Chapter 4

It's late night over at Gensokyo, and at the Hakurei Shrine peace and quiet strangely reigns the night.

Inside the shrine, everything has been repaired, and not a soul could tell of the destruction that once was inside these walls.

In the middle of the living room of the shrine's living quarters, Budou, Sanae and Mima sleep on their rolled out futons quite soundly.

The little bat youkai sleeps between the Moriya Shrine maiden and the supposedly evil spirit, seeing as about a minute before, the girls were fighting over who slept next to little Budou.

Marisa is supposed to be sleeping on the futon set above the three girls' heads, but she has rolled all the way out of the futon and lies sprawled on the floor with a massive nose-bubble on her left nostril, and drool coming out of the right side of her wide-open snoring mouth.

A little farther away from the girls to their left, almost reaching into the kitchen, is one more futon, but this one is empty and undisturbed.

While the girls sleep away, Ail, Suzaku and Michiko are having a small conversation in front of the donation box.

Perching on top of the donation box, Suzaku looks a little tired and just about ready to drop.

Ail sits behind the donation box, resting his head on its left corner, and Michiko stands next to the small steps leading to said donation box.

Looking, and sounding a little tired, Ail asks "are you sure you don't want me to come with you? There are youkai roaming around at this hour, you know."

The old lady chuckles while shaking her head, then says "get some sleep young man. You can barely stand on your feet there."

Ail just hums, then looks at Suzaku and asks "and how are things now, Suzaku? Feeling anything different?"

Suzaku lazily ruffles her feathers, and allowing both Ail and Michiko to listen, she telepathically says "I am feeling much better, but master is still in pain. It's like she's inside a living nightmare."

Ail clicks his tongue and asks "what is Reimu doing? I though she went in there to protect Rika!"

Michiko, in a stern tone of voice, says "young man, there are things in the universe that nothing, and I mean nothing can stop. Fate is a fickle thing, and you just happen to be one of the ones lucky enough to fight against it without causing chaos."

Ail and Michiko look at each other, then Michiko casually shrugs and says "well... too much chaos."

The old woman suddenly pulls her walking stick out of her left sleeve, glances at Ail and Suzaku, then turns around to leave.

Before she is too far, Ail says "I don't get you. You came here, caused a mess, literally owned us all, and then suddenly, when Suzaku gets ill, you stop."

The woman takes a deep breath, then Ail continues "then you help us fix everything and I still don't know **HOW** you made it all look like new, and now you are going back home on your own like that! Who are you, and what do you really want?"

The old lady sighs, then turns around and says "ye' think too much, kid. I'm just an old woman who wishes to see this shrine return to its old splendor."

Ail and Suzaku stare back at the old woman, but neither says a thing.

Michiko sighs again, approaches the donation box in the blink of an eye, surprising the boy and the bird, pulls out a yin-yang symbol from her left sleeve, then says "that lazy maiden even forgot to give this thing some maintenance. Really, and it's even getting donations now, so there's no excuse."

She smacks the symbol on the center of the box like a sticker, giggles, turns around precisely when a cloud covers the little light from the moon for a second, then disappears, leaving behind an echoing cackle.

After it stops, feeling a little spooked, Ail asks "S-S-Suzaku... did she do something to us just now?"

Suzaku ruffles her feathers more vigorously to calm herself down, then replies "I don't know! I felt no magical aura around her..."

Ail jumps on his feet and walks around the box as he continues for Suzaku "and there's definitely no hidden powers inside of her, or I could have at least sensed something! Still..."

Ail turns around to look at the donation box, passes his hands in front of what he thinks is a sticker, and says "this symbol does look cool and... wait, what the hell?"

Ail freaks out, jumps away from the donation box, and not one to wait for consequences, Suzaku flies away from it while asking "what did she do?"

Ail nervously says "th-th-that, it's not a sticker! How the hell did she do that?"

The symbol on the donation box seems to have been carved in there and recently painted, yet it was not there just a moment ago.

As Suzaku lands on Ail's shoulder, the woman's cackle echoes around the night sky, making the boy and the bird both rush back inside the shrine, whimpering and squawking.

* * *

Over at Makai, where it is always daytime; even if the light is kind of dull; after clearing the large dining from of almost all the Makaians, Reimu ignores their cries of terror as she stares straight toward the Yama's eyes.

The crystal tables are empty, the benches have disappeared, but the main chairs remain, and Shikieiki has seen it fit to take one of the chairs and get herself comfortable, then looks at Reimu and Tenshi, who stands to the maiden's right, and asks "so, do you want to see, or not?"

Behind the maiden and the celestial, Kogasa, Yumeko, Mai, Yuki, Sara, Luize and Alice, with Shanghai and Hourai on her shoulders, as well as a handful of remaining Makaians, all seem to be eagerly waiting for Reimu's response.

Anxious, Yumeko angrily asks "so? Are you going to do it? Look, if you don't do it, I will!"

Alice looks curiously at Yumeko and asks "oh my, are you that concerned for Rika?"

Yumeko blushes, chokes on herself, looks away from Alice to try and hide her face, then says "I-I'm just curious! N-nothing else!"

Reimu silently stares back at Shikieiki, apparently hesitating when looking upon the Yama's serious face, then Tenshi suddenly touches the back of Reimu's hand with her own, and stares at the maiden with that serious and determined face Rika herself uses often, and knows that this stubborn celestial wants to see those "examples", and will probably get to see them with, or without Reimu's approval.

Reimu smiles back at Tenshi as her response, then turns her face toward Shikieiki and stares back with great determination.

The Yama looks at everyone in the room, their determined and concerned faces seem to be a sight worthy of a smile from this Yama. Shikieiki sighs, her smile vanishes, then says "alright then. Let's start easy and show you something good, but be warned, that girl's experiences have been far from '_good_'."

All present nod in assent, save for four Makaians that, with saddened faces, turn around and head toward the door.

Yumeko turns to look at her brethren and asks "where are you going?"

Only one of the four turns around; a woman with golden hair, small white horns on each side of her forehead, yellowish skin and dressed in a black leotard, sounding saddened, says "only knowing this is more than enough for us. We do not wish to experience such things."

Yumeko nods and says "fine! You may leave, you cowards."

The yellow-skinned woman shoots a nasty frown at her sister, but then turns around and leaves without replying.

After the door closes, Shikieiki says "whenever you guys are ready."

Yumeko turns around to look at Shikieiki, then nods and waits with a brave face.

The Yama's face becomes completely emotionless, and after glancing over the remaining people in the room, she raises her right hand, points her finger at Reimu's head, then the maiden, and all present, close their eyes as though falling into a sudden state of standing sleep.

Immediately, their minds are filled with an image that feels to them as though it's a memory of their own.

* * *

_It's a bright morning at the zoo, when the young Rika, with short brown hair and wearing a white robe with black and gold shoulder pads, same as her parents, enters through the zoo's main gates with her mother holding her right hand, and her father her left._

_Her mother, a woman with long brown hair and glistening sky-blue eyes, and her father with short light brown hair and bright blue eyes, both bearing a pair of large angel wings, giggle along with their wingless daughter, then the father asks "so, how do you feel being away from the compound for the first time?" _

_Rika looks up to her father, lets out a happy giggle, and says "thanks for bringing me to the zoo papa, mama! This is great!" _

_The father and mother look at each other and chuckle, then the family of three heads straight toward the monkey cages. _

_After two hours, little Rika and her parents are only a few feet away from the larger animal cages, and that's when they hear some commotion._

_ Being the kind and servicing people they are, Rika's father and mother approach the center of the commotion in hopes to help out if needed._

_ It is the tiger who is causing the commotion, roaring furiously while pacing around her cage and swinging her claws at any zookeeper that gets too close. _

_Rika's mother bends down to meet her daughter's eyes and says "sweetheart, stay here. We're going to help these people." _

_Little Rika pouts and says "hey, I'm five years old! I can help!"_

_ Her father pats her head and says "stay put little one", then he and his wife rush toward the cage to assist the zookeepers._

_ Little Rika remains in place, standing next to a stone bench next to a red trash bin, crossing her arms and pouting, then jumps on the bench for a better look, and after seeing the tiger's blur, she gasps, jumps off the bench, and walks straight toward the large cage. _

_Without anyone's notice, little Rika enters through the wide bars of the cage, and the raging tiger immediately notices her presence and heads straight to her. _

_From the other side of the cage, a man asks "what's she doing now? Did she calm down?" _

_Very suddenly, the voice of Rika's mom can be heard clearly when she screams "Rika! She's in the cage!" _

_By now, the tiger is too close to little Rika for anyone to be able to do anything, but the zookeepers and Rika's parents are surprised when the tiger just sniffs Rika, and even allows the little girl to pat its head. _

_While she pats the tiger's head, little Rika asks "what's wrong?" _

_The tiger answers with a soft purring whimper, then Rika looks toward her parent's voices and says "mama, papa! She says her cub is missing! Please, find it for her!" _

_Her parents, the zookeepers, and the Onkamikami in the area all look around in awe, then Rika's mother gasps and exclaims "find that cub!"_

_ The people around the cage scatter to look around for the tiger's cub, and it's Rika's mother who finds it shivering behind a trash bin that sits between two old wooden benches. _

_Excited, Rika's mother raises the cub above her head and exclaims "I found it!" _

_From the cage, Rika calls "mama, hurry up, please!" _

_When Rika's mother, the Onkamikami and the zookeepers get close to the cage with the cub, the tiger starts pacing around in a quickened pace and roars furiously. _

_Rika jumps on the tiger mother and wraps her tiny arms around its neck and exclaims "no, they're not taking it away!" _

_The tiger mother calms down, purrs softly, then Rika takes the chance, runs out of the cage, then raises her little hands to her mother, saying "give me the cub so I can take it to her!"_

_ Her mother stares back with concern, then Rika says "she won't let anybody else get close! Mom, I can do it!"_

_ Rika's mother hesitantly kneels down and gives Rika the cub, and Rika immediately heads back to the mother tiger. _

_The little girl slows down when close to the tiger, places the excited cub next to its mother, then takes a step back. _

_The cub lets out a tiny roar while the mother tiger purrs while licking her cub's face, and Rika is so overcome by the sight that she forgets to get out of the cage. _

_By the time she remembers this fact, the tiger mother rushes to little Rika, causing the people around to gasp, but even Rika is surprised when the tiger simply rubs its head against Rika's cheeks, then lies down to let Rika ride on her back. _

_Little Rika giggles, take the tiger up on her offer, and when she's on its back, she says "you're a good girl."_

_ Rika suddenly realizes that her parents, her clan mates, and the zookeepers are all applauding and cheering, making her blush and bashfully sink her head into the tiger's fur, thinking "th-they're clapping for me. I... I want my mommy." _

_And so, the memory ends with little Rika smiling why shyly wanting her mother's embrace to sink her blushing face into._

_

* * *

_

Back in Pandemonium's dining room, Reimu opens her eyes and looks at Shikieiki, who looks back at her without showing emotions.

Tenshi suddenly says "well... that wasn't bad at all. Not like those times after we met."

Kogasa suddenly adds "I wonder if I can do that with miss Shou?"

Before anybody else says anything, Reimu scowls and says "I take it you showed us that one to help us understand where Rika's affinity with animals came from, or perhaps, show us when she first revealed this affinity, correct?"

Shikieiki nods, then says "I have also shown you the last good memory that girl had from those times. I just want you all to understand her a little more before showing you the real example."

Mai stretches her small angelic wings, takes a step forward, then exclaims "we are NOT weak! We are proud children of the goddess Shinki! Show us, what exactly happened to our sister that has her shivering like a cornered human child!"

Even Yumeko is surprised at Mai's sudden outburst, but she too wants to cut to the chase, so she quietly takes her sister's side and places her hand on Mai's shoulder to show her support.

Shikieiki, still holding that neutral face, lowers her head slightly as a bow, then says "right, how could I forget? And I'm sure miss Reimu and miss Kogasa would love to see more, right? Even you, miss Hinanai, would like to see more."

Kogasa shyly hugs her closed umbrella, even squeezing its tongue, then nervously asks "e-heh, um, is it alright if I say no?"

Ignoring the karakasa youkai, Reimu sternly says "you do what you must."

Shikieiki nods, then says "alright then. Here is a real example.", then raises her right hand once more, points it at Reimu, and even the reluctant Kogasa closes her eyes to live through another of Rika's memories as though being one of her own.

* * *

_The memory begins with seven-year-old Rika and Tenshi, who at the time was named Chiko, spending their days together, Chiko beating up other children for trying to attack Rika in any way, and getting healed after her fights or after a stupid stunt, which were common by her, or having all of her stories listened to by little Rika. _

_The memory moves as though being fast forwarded until it suddenly stops with little Rika standing in a vast playground surrounded by tall and bushy trees, and adorned with flowers and small ornamental walls that were used to separate some parts of the playgrounds into segments._

_ Rika is alone where most of the swings are, and seems to be waiting for someone, probably Chiko, to arrive, and that's when she gasps after laying her eyes on the group of five children, three boys and two girls, that make it a habit of bullying her daily. _

_One of the boys has short black hair and wears a red shirt, brown shorts, and a pair of large brown boots, the second has blonde hair that reaches the back of his neck, and wears a dark-green shirt, long black pants, and black boots, and the third has short dark-brown hair, wears a black shirt, black shorts that reach his knees, and a pair of sharp-looking black shoes._

_ One of the girls has long black hair and wears a long pink dress with wooden sandals, and the second one wears a white shirt with a red ribbon around the collar, a pink sash for a belt, a short pink skirt, and brown knee-high boots._

_ Rika wants to run and hide, but she has already been spotted, yet none of the children move from their spot._

_ They seem to be plotting something amongst themselves and just ignore little Rika, and being the curious little girl she is, Rika decides to sneak around and get closer. _

_She pretends to go to the swings, which are hidden from the group's view thanks to one large tree, and when she believes they aren't looking, she risks getting closer, using the small walls for cover, before getting to the hedges that sit just beside the children. _

_There, she can hear one of the girls saying "then, when Chiko gets here, you distract her, and you three come from behind." _

_The other girl, with a softer voice, says "fine, but if she uses those wrestling moves on me again, I'm looking for some new friends. Those hurts!" _

_Little Rika gasps and thinks "they're going to hurt Chiko! I have to stop them!"_

_ Without even thinking about her own well-being once, Rika gets up on her feet, runs toward the bullies, then says "you leave Chiko alone, you big bullies! Go do something good for once!" _

_The children immediately surround Rika, four of them sneering, save for the boy in black, who throws a very dirty and hateful look at little Rika, then says "then I guess we'll just have to teach you to stay away from the good kids, you worthless little defect!"_

_ Before Rika knows what happened next, she finds herself curled on the ground, covering her face with her hands while the bullies continue to hurt her. _

_While this happens, she thinks "it hurts... but it's for Chiko! I'm protecting Chiko! Endure... I must endure!"_

_

* * *

_

_Later that day, young Chiko, with her long blue hair, wearing a small black hat, a long white shirt with long sleeves, a long pink skirts half-covered by her shirt, and a pair of large dark brown cross-laced boots, arrives at the appointed area where she is to meet with Rika._

_ She looks around the tree near the swings, and when she fails to see Rika, her heart starts racing, then she calls "Rika? Are you here, Rika?" _

_She instinctively looks toward the next area of the swings area and notices an odd lump on the sand, and as though knowing what that lump is, she shouts "Rika! Please tell me you're playing some weird game!" _

_Chiko runs toward the lump, slides on her knees besides it, then starts digging the sand away, revealing little Rika curled up into a ball and shivering. _

_Chiko breathes rapidly through her mouth, shoves Rika's shoulder, and nervously whispers "Rika, are you alright?" _

_The little girl opens her eyes and raises her head to look at Chiko, revealing various bumps and purple bruises on her forehead and her cheeks, then smiles and whispers "Chiko... you're alright. Those... mean bullies didn't hurt you. I'm so glad... I helped Chiko, at last." _

_Chiko panics and says "no, don't move! Dammit, those bastards! Uuu, I need to get you home!" _

_Taking a deep breath to muster up enough strength, Chiko manages to grab the whimpering little girl by her shoulders, helps her stand, then kneels down so that Rika could fall on her back. _

_She takes the long walk back to Rika's home, trying to move faster than her feet can take her, and when she's at the door, she knocks hard on it, calling "Mister and missis Onkamikami, please! It's an emergency!"_

_ The moment she hears the door open, Rika can hear her parents panic and ask what happened, though with all three of them speaking at the same time made Rika think there was more than three people there._

_ Everything becomes black, and when the scene bears light once more, little Rika is in a bland white hospital room on a metal framed bed with white sheets, being held by her parents while her mother asks "and who did this to you, sweetie?" _

_Her father, sounding stern, asks "what kind of monsters would do such a thing?" _

_Rika smiles and whispers the story to her parents, ending her story with a smile and tears. _

_Chiko approaches Rika, grabs her bandaged left hand, then says "you idiot, you don't HAVE to be strong like me! You are not a burden! I LIKE protecting you, so... so..."_

_ Little Rika knows Chiko is now blaming herself for what happened, so the takes her little hand, places it on her friend's head, then whispers "it's not your fault. You did what you could..." _

_The memory suddenly speeds up, showing Rika's enraged parents arguing with the bullies' parents, who shoot the same dirty looks their kids shot at Rika, Chiko protecting little Rika on later days, even protecting her from flying leaves that got too close, obviously affected about what happened to her friend._

_

* * *

_

Back at Pandemonium's dining room, the room echoes with the sniffles of some of the Makaians, and becomes tense with their rage as well.

Shikieiki sighs, then says "Tenshi, you should not blame yourself for what happened anymore. That girl sacrificed herself for you, so turn those thoughts away, and honor your friend's sacrifice."

Both Tenshi and Yumeko share the same face of anger and disgust, but Tenshi's face suggest more, as even a bit of drool trickles down the left corner of her mouth, which comes from the foaming that's formed around her gritted teeth.

Reimu, as well as the rest of the people there all have their eyes covered by a dark shadow, their heads lowered, and some, like Kogasa, seem about ready to start crying.

Surprisingly enough, it's Sara who raises her head and says "well, I'm convinced! Our sister is strong! To have survived all that on her own is more than enough proof."

The tension in the room seems to lift, and one by one, everyone in the room start raising their heads and smile.

Reimu and Tenshi are the only ones there that do not smile at all, but seem to have relaxed a little, and both keep their eyes on Shikieiki, who says "yes, that's what I like to hear. The past is gone, there's nothing you can do about it, but you can make sure that girl's present becomes her bliss. Exchange those hellish memories for bright and cheerful thoughts of today, and allow her to enjoy this paradise she's come to love so much."

Shanghai raises her little left hand and exclaims "I'm giving aunty Rika a kiss on the cheek whenever I see her!", then Hourai stands up and says "I'm singing a song, just for her!"

Little by little, the people in the room cheer up and talk amongst themselves about how to help Rika bare those old memories of hers, and even Yumeko joins on the conversation with quite a bright smile.

Shikieiki stares at all of them, points at them with her right finger, then motions her hand toward the door, and just like that, everyone starts to leave the room, save for the two standing straight in front of Shikieiki with stern looks on their faces.

Tenshi and Reimu do not move an inch, and stare at the Yama as she uses her powers to remove the Makaians and the youkai from the room, and when the door closes behind Kogasa, Reimu asks "so what is it you want to show US that you don't want the others to see?"

Shikieiki lifts her head high as she says "so you understand, as expected."

Tenshi raises her left eyebrow in confusion, then Shikieiki says "regardless of anything, you two are the closest to that girl, so I want you to see something very important..."

The Yama pauses, links her fingers under her chin, alternates her eyes between Reimu and Tenshi, then says "I want you to see the day Rika's dark self first came into being. Mind you, what you are about to see is strong, even for someone me... but you have to know, for her sake."

Both Tenshi and Reimu stand firm and stare with determination at the Yama, then Reimu says "the faster you do this, the better."

Tenshi quickly adds "let's get on with it already."

Shikieiki nods, unlinks her right hand, points her finger between Tenshi and Reimu, then they both close their eyes to, once again, live through one of Rika's memories.

* * *

_This memory beings right back in the playground, exactly one year after the events from the previous memory._

_ Little Rika is once again fending for herself by the swings._

_ She is being pushed around by the same bullies as before, and this time they brought more friends from around the park, though all they do is edge them on into torturing the girl._

_ Rika has had plenty of chances to fight back, but even having the opportunity, something inside of her prevents her from attacking; a strong feeling of pain that prevents her from harming others. _

_The leader of the bullies, who is wearing his usual dark clothes, grabs little Rika by the arm, kicks her behind the knees, knocking her to the ground, then the two girls jump in and start kicking Rika, making her curl up into a ball once again._

_ After what feels like an hour, which in truth is about fifteen minutes, little Rika has stopped crying, the bullies let her rest, then one of the agitators asks "is the devil-girl dead?" _

_The bullies' leader steps forward, forces the little girl up, then says "nah, she's fine, but it seems we broke something." _

_From around, the agitators ooh, boo, and hiss, making fun of the little girl. _

_The thing the children did not notice was the vicious and hateful look on Rika's face, and long before anybody notices, she rushes toward the leader and shoves him surprisingly hard to the ground, where he stays holding to the back of his head, then Rika looks down on him as though looking at a pile of vomit. _

_Suddenly, the boy starts screaming and crying out in pain._

_ Rika's face returns to its normal, kind state, and when she looks down, she gasps and exclaims "oh no! I'm so sorry!" _

_Her caring instincts take over, and Rika bends down and tries to help the boy up, but moving him makes him scream out as though in agony, and that's when Rika notices blood on the boy's hand._

_ Rika gasps, and backs away, thinking "oh no! What did I just do? I hurt him! I made him bleed!" _

_Rika starts to shiver, thinking it's all her fault for shoving the boy, and doesn't notice a stray sharp rock under the boy's head getting swallowed up by the sand. _

_Rika's legs lose their strength and she falls on her knees, where she remains staring at the bleeding boy, his blood now staining the sands, while the other children start screaming and crying for their parents, one of them clearly saying "mama, the demon girl killed him!" _

_Rika blinks once, and now the boy's parents are all over him, his mother embracing him and lifting him off the ground, while his father glare at Rika as though looking at the devil itself. _

_To Rika, everything happens too fast, and all she can hear are the insults flying her way, while the rest of the screams and speeches sound slurred and muffled._

_ She has to move; the boy's father has now been joined by two more men from his clan, and all walk slowly toward her with murderous intent in their eyes. _

_When the man is but a step away from Rika, everything becomes dark. _

_Later that day, little Rika can hear rain, but she doesn't know where she is. _

_All she knows is that it's very dark, and her entire body hurts. _

_She can hear her mother is close, calling "Rika! Child, answer me!" _

_Loud sobs is all Rika manages to do to call her mother, and shortly after, there is light form above her, as well as cold water striking her skin. _

_The adults had beaten the child and left her to bleed to her death inside a wooden box next to a pile of burnable trash, but Rika is only aware of this when her mother picks her up from the box and lifts her up, crying as though sharing her daughter's pain._

_ Now she dangles on her mother's shoulder semi-conscious, and her blood is mixing with the rain and washing away._

_ To Rika, her parent's voice sound muffled, but she can hear her father furiously arguing._

_ He has taken the family sword from her mother, and after finally recovering her senses, Rika can see herself covered in blood on her mother's arms, staining her mother's clothes with her blood that mixes with the rain, and her mother now stands in front of the father, screaming "killing them will not solve anything! Sweetheart, Rika needs you and me now! Revenge will have to wait!" _

_With the rain falling furiously from the sky, their voices sound faint, but Rika can clearly hear how her father furiously replies "**NO! They have gone TOO FAR! This wasn't done by those children, and I know DAMNED WELL who did this too! I will make them SUFFER for this! Now step aside!**" _

_Rika starts to sob again, and just like that, her father drops the sword and rushes to his family, recovering his senses and whispering "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Y-your right! L-let's get her to the hospital and deal with this later."_

_ His wife sighs with immense relief, then after picking the sword from the ground, the family of three braves the furious rain to head straight towards the hospital._

_

* * *

_

When the memory ends, both Tenshi and Reimu drop on their knees and breath as though breathing for the first time once again, then Tenshi screams "what the hell? Why didn't they tell me?"

Reimu places her hand on her forehead to recover herself, then asks "all that just because they **thought** she was a demon?"

Shikieiki is once again linking her fingers under her chin while looking at the maiden and the celestial, then says "that poor girl kept asking herself 'what did she do to ever deserve such treatment', and in doing so, she gave strength to the darkness in her, allowing it to take over, to defend herself, just because her own pure soul prevented her from causing others pain."

Shikieiki closes her eyes, then adds "mind you, attacks like those happened often, before and after meeting you, miss Tenshi. And thus, each and every attack led to the strengthening of that darkness, until it exploded the way you saw there."

Tenshi gasps, while Reimu keeps her temper in check, though her eyes intensify, showing her anger.

The Yama sighs and says "neither of you can change the past, but you can alter her present. Now that you saw this mere glimpse of her memories, I hope that you understand that girl needs support, still, to this day. Reimu, Tenshi, you are the closest to her, and you two are the ones to help her balance that darkness!"

Reimu and Tenshi recover themselves, stand up and look at the Yama, then Tenshi says "even if I have to move under that shrine's donation box, I'm making hell sure to stay by Rika's side."

Reimu angrily whispers "move somewhere else", then looks sternly at Shikieiki, and coldly says "I will do what I can."

The Yama smiles, then says "I will not hold you any longer, Reimu. Go to her."

Reimu bows rapidly, then makes her way out the door to look for Shinki's room.

Once the door closes, Shikieiki smiles while looking at Tenshi, then says "that was the past, and you know that. Rika is happy where she is, finally. Allow her to enjoy that peace and happiness, and you will have changed that girl's life for the better."

Tenshi stares silently at the Yama, something even she herself is impressed at, then turns her face toward the door and says "yeah, I think I know what you mean."

The celestial cracks a wide grin, then says "oh, that girl will smile so widely when I teach her how to play pranks."

Shikieiki's eyes spread open in surprise, then Tenshi, noticing the Yama's expression, turns all the way around to look at the windows and says "hey, playing pranks on others is a perfect source of lightening laughter and joyous hilarity."

Shikieiki stares at Tenshi with surprise, then after about ten seconds, she finally asks "how in blazes did you even get to enter Heaven?"

* * *

Meanwhile, using her luck and intuition, Reimu finds Shinki's room in just a few minutes, and as soon as she enters the room, she lays her eyes on the bed, which has its frame made of the same crystal as the palace itself, and has red sheets and two large feather pillows.

Rika is sleeping on the bed, while Shinki sits by her side and softly combs her hair with her hand.

Shinki raises her head to look at Reimu, smiles, then gets up from the bed and walks toward the maiden while Reimu closes the door behind her.

There are two comfortable-looking chairs against the wall to the right of the door, and next to those chairs is an ornamental potted plant in the corner.

Next to the plant, on the right-side wall, is Shinki's amazing vanity, with a large, wide mirror on its top, eight drawers all over it, but surprisingly plainly adorned on the tabletop.

Before the goddess can even think a word, Reimu looks at her in the eyes and says "I want to ask a favor of you. Please, don't take this lightly."

Almost dumbstruck, Shinki silently nods and waits.

Reimu closes her eyes and takes a deep breath, and after forming the words in her mind, she says "I want to ask you to keep Rika here with you. I am certain that she will be more than happy in here, between her newfound brethren... and her adoptive god of a mother."

Shinki looks at Reimu with insult in her face, and sounding both surprised and annoyed, Shinki replies "Hakurei, I can't believe you. Don't you ever say something like that to her, or I'm going to hunt you down!"

Reimu looks back at the goddess in surprise, but before she can reply, Shinki continues "that girl loves and admires you very much, Reimu. More than anything, she wishes to help you carry your burden as shrine maiden for as long as you have to bear it!"

Reimu, though scowling, calmly asks "and how do you even know all this?"

Shinki sighs, then replies "I guess you'll have to see for yourself, and I have prepared something for such a thing."

Rika suddenly starts moaning and moving her arms and legs around, as though in a nightmare, so Shinki rushes to her side, kneels, then whispers "it's alright child. Calm down, calm down. Everything is fine."

While saying this, she brushes the side of Rika's head, helping the shrine maid calm down.

After calming Rika down, Shinki sighs and looks at Reimu while saying "she's been like this the whole time. I hope those memories don't affect her too much..."

Reimu places her hand on her face and rubs her left eye with her palm, and after a long sigh, she looks at Shinki and asks "so, what is this thing you have prepared?"

Shinki looks at Reimu, raises the left corner of her lips, then says "come closer. I'll explain everything."

* * *

A few hours later, Rika wakes up, but feels completely disoriented.

She can't make out where she is, so she moans and asks "wh-where am I? Mi-miss Reimu?"

She hears the muffle sound of a woman's voice that is clearly not Reimu's, then suddenly remembers what happened; what she asked of Shikieiki and everything she now remembers from her past.

She takes a deep breath, rubs her eyes, and when she opens them again, she realizes she's still in the crystal palace of Pandemonium, lying on the most comfortable bed she's ever been on, and with Shinki sitting by her side, smiling motherly at her.

Rika immediately smiles back and softly asks "miss Shinki. You... you've been here with me the whole time, haven't you?"

Shinki nods, then Rika surprises her when she almost jumps off the bed to give the goddess a hug while saying "thank you so much for everything! You have treated me with the same care as my mother would."

Shinki is left in a state of awe, and when Rika pushes herself away from Shinki, she smiles at the goddess, flaps her little wings, and says "thank you so very, very much."

Shinki places her hand on her chest while smiling back at Rika, then says "I am so glad to hear you say that."

There is a short pause, then Shinki says "I meant what I said before, Rika. You are welcome here in Makai as one of our own, so don't be shy and call me 'mom' if you'd like."

Rika playfully jumps and hugs Shinki again, excitedly saying "whatever you say, mom!"

Shinki giggles and holds Rika's head against her own, and for that moment, Rika finally had the chance to feel a motherly touch once again.

* * *

Rika and Shinki return to the dining hall, where Tenshi, Kogasa, Shikieiki, Alice, Shanghai, Hourai, Yumeko, and of course, Reimu, are all waiting impatiently for news on Rika.

When they see the shrine maid and goddess enter through those doors, all but Shikieiki and Reimu rush straight toward them, all asking Rika how she was feeling, but doing so at the same time, making it into an unintelligible babble.

A bit surprised at first, Rika just smiles back at them to try and appease them, but it's no use, so Shinki gets in front of Rika, raises both arms, and with authority and kindness, she loudly says "**silence!** Girls, let her speak!"

Once the girls quiet down, Rika bows to Shinki as thanks, then says "yes, I am fine. Kogasa, it's true, these memories hurt, but Yumeko, Alice, they won't hinder me in the least. Rest assured, I am still Rika. The same one you knew before."

She then looks at Tenshi, who has a longing and worried face, then says "my old friend... I remember everything! Thank you so much for being with me all those years... Momoko."

That old nickname Rika herself gave her hits Tenshi hard, making her smile wide as she excitedly says "you do remember!", then rushes to Rika, grabs her under the arms, throws her in the air, making Rika scream in surprise, then catches the shrine maid before she hits the ground and twirls her around with a tight hug.

A little dazed, Rika says "whoa, I'm happy to be with you again, my old friend."

Tenshi places Rika back on the ground, and while the shrine maid recovers herself, Tenshi laughs, pats her on the back, and says "welcome back, my old friend!"

Rika takes Tenshi's hat off, messes her hair a bit with her left hand, places the hat back on and says "it's good to be back."

That's when Shikieiki clears her throat to call on Rika's attention.

Shinki gives Rika a light shove towards Shiki, while signaling to the other girls with her hands to step aside, which they immediately do.

Reimu, in the meantime, remains silent as she stands in the middle of the dining room, away from Rika and the other girls, watching everything from the sidelines.

When Rika is close, Shikieiki smiles and asks "so, you're feeling alright?"

Rika nods with a sweet smile and says "you were right. Those memories sure were something. I... I almost lost myself back there, if it hadn't been for lady Shinki and Kogasa's words."

She pauses for a moment to think, then says "of course, the memories of all my new friends... that memory alone saved me from the precipice of darkness when everything else seemed to fail me."

Shikieiki smiles and nods while saying "good", then points at the dark sword stabbed on the ground next to the long crystal tables and asks "and how exactly did you manage to seal the rest of your memories into that sword?"

Rika looks at the sword, and her smile immediately turns to a frown.

Without realizing it, she walks over to it, pulls it out of the ground, and while holding it sideways on her hands and looking at it, she says "these are not just my dark memories, miss Eiki. This... this is my dark self."

Shikieiki opens her left eye wide with surprise, but not widely enough to let the others in the room know of her surprise.

Rika continues to look at the sword and barely smiles as she says "she said that when I am ready, shell return the rest of my memories to me. So, for now, she resides in here... She and all those dark memories."

Shikieiki closes her eyes and nods, acknowledging everything that Rika said, while thinking "I see. She managed to defeat that darkness thanks to the love she has for her friends. That alone caused the darkness in her so seek a new refuge. I guess I did the right thing after all."

* * *

Later, with the help of Shinki, who summoned some of her children to get Rika some materials from all over Makai, the shrine maid synthesized herself a new sheath she integrated to the back of her belt, and now has the dark sword sheathed horizontally with its hilt to the right.

Now Reimu, Tenshi, Kogasa, Alice with Shanghai and Hourai, and Rika stand close to the door while Rika says her goodbyes.

Rika holds Yumeko's hands as she says "see you later sis. And please, don't feel bad anymore. I don't blame you for protecting your... I mean... our mom."

Yumeko smirks, then says "hey, who do you think I am? I'm already over that."

Rika chuckles, then suddenly looks around and says "what a shame the rest left so early. Oh well, I'll come visit and bring them some of my dumplings. They'll love them."

Shinki giggles and says "I'm sure they will.", then glances over to Reimu, who stares back without showing a single bit of emotion.

Walking backward toward her friends, Rika says a few more goodbyes until she bumps into Reimu, who purposely moved to get in her way.

Rika turns around and chuckles nervously when she realizes she bumped on her mistress, but before she can apologize, in a low tone of voice, Reimu says "Rika, I can see how happy you will be with these people, so please stay here in Makai with your new family."

These words fall like a bomb on Rika, and after staying in place while staring at her mistress in shock, Rika chuckles and says "my lady, please stop teasing like that. Come on, let's go-"

Reimu suddenly and loudly says "Rika, I order you to stay here!"

Rika hops away from Reimu and looks at her mistress with frightened, glassy eyes, then trembles as she lowers her head.

Outraged, Tenshi grabs Reimu by the collar of her shirt, and through gritted teeth, she angrily asks "what the hell is this about, Reimu!"

Alice gasps, but remains silent when she manages to glance at Reimu's, then Shinki's eyes.

Hourai and Shanghai fly around Reimu, both shouting at the same time, Shanghai saying "how can you say such things, you mean red and white!", while Hourai shouts "I want my aunty in Gensokyo, you big red bully!"

Kogasa walks over to Reimu, who shoots one of her most vile and dangerous looks at the celestial, making Tenshi drop her, then Kogasa takes she chance, pulls on Reimu's skirt, then sniffles and says "but Rika-sis' home is Gensokyo."

Reimu ignores the others and continues to stare at Rika, who lifts her head just at that moment, and with a serious face and tone, she says "sorry my lady, but that is one order I refuse to follow. Sure, I love my family here, and I'd love to get to know them all better, but Gensokyo is my home, my lady, by your side!"

Reimu returns Rika's serious stare with her own, expelling a dangerously ominous aura as well, then coldly says "I order you to kill yourself, right here in front of me!"

Everybody gasps in shock at Reimu's sudden request, then scream when Rika pulls her family sword and rapidly places it on her chest to stab herself.

Rika's eyes are resolute, and without hesitation, she lifts that sword and thrust it toward her chest.

Reimu shouts "STOP!", and Rika stops her sword when it is but a mere inch away from her chest.

* * *

Reimu suddenly rushes to Rika, pushes the sword away from the maid's chest, then asks "Rika! You'd go to such lengths for me?"

Rika firmly responds "whatever my lady Reimu wishes, I will see it becomes a reality!"

Reimu sighs, grabs her shrine maid, gives her a hug, causing Rika to twitch a bit, then says "you are just so... so incorrigible! Stupid, stupid Rika, never follow an order like that again! For as long as you stay with me, NEVER take your life for granted! Now let's go home!"

Rika recovers herself enough to return Reimu's hug, and sounding a bit tired, she says "a-as you wish, my lady. I'm sorry to have scared you like that, miss Reimu."

Hiding her face with Rika's hair, Reimu lets out a single thankful tear as she calmly says "no, I'm the one who's sorry. I promise to never doubt you again."

Right after saying that, without anybody's, save Rika's notice, the jewel on the colorful sword on the ground glows pink, making Rika smile, return a more natural hug, and say "thank you for everything, my lady Reimu."

After breaking away from the hug, Reimu looks at Shinki and Shikieiki, both whom return warm smiles at the maiden, then Shinki winks and mouth the words "I told you so.", while Shikieiki bows her head and silently stares at the maiden.

Behind Reimu, Tenshi grabs Rika and exclaims "you crazy, crazy Onkamikami, don't you EVER do that! How am I supposed to protect you from yourself like that!"

When Rika tries to apologize to Tenshi, Kogasa cries out "Rika-sis, don't go! Who's going to cheer me up when I'm feeling down!"

Before Rika can reply, Shanghai says "stupid, stupid aunty Rika!", then Hourai lands on Rika's left shoulder and exclaims "and just when we were talking about being a big family now!"

Finally, Rika looks at Alice and Yumeko, both give her a stern stare, then shrug simultaneously, relaxing their faces.

Having being scolded by everyone, Rika finally says "I'm sorry, I don't know what I was thinking."

Tenshi wraps an arm around Rika's shoulder, then Rika twitches as though with fright, but forces herself to smile naturally at her long-time friend.

* * *

From the corridor just before the dining room, a girl screams a loud and bloody scream, then the door bursts open with a powerful bang.

Mai rushes inside the room with half her clothes burned off, screaming at the top of her lungs "MOM! SAVE MEEEE!"

Right after Mai comes Yuki, holding on to a transparent set of underwear she obviously wants Mai to wear, then Yumeko suddenly bursts into flames when Yuki smiles at her, and screams in horrible pain while Yuki's magical fire burns her, but doesn't consume her.

Reimu shouts "what the hell is going on?"

Alice face palms and shakes her head while saying "ugh, and there she goes."

Kogasa runs behind Reimu and nervously says "I-I-I-I'm not scared! J-j-just getting out of her way."

Yumeko shouts "OOOOWWW! Mom, do something!"

Shinki just laughs after Shikieiki says something to her and completely ignores her two girls' screams.

Yuki spots Mai trying to hide under one of the tables and flies after her sister, preparing the transparent brassiere for immediate equipping on her sister.

Mai screams and slides away, leaving her shirt on the floor and holding on to hear breasts so her half-burned bra doesn't fall off, then she and Yumeko run straight out of the dining room with Yuki silently flying after them.

On their way out, Mai and Yumeko burst through the door to the main hall, where Sara and Luize are running around in circles while fire surrounds and burns their clothes, but don't consume either, and now, Luize's hat has become ash by now.

Mai bumps against Sara and is immediately engulfed by magical flames, and now all four girls scream out loud while Yuki flies over their heads, smiling silently and swooping down on them.

Amongst the screaming, Luize manages to scream "why am I wearing a disgusting bikini now?", Sara screams "ew, ew, ew, ew, get the roaches off; get this FIRE OFF!", Yumeko shouts "Yuki, I'm sorry! Just stop making a mess of things already!", and Mai shouts "NOOOOO! Transparent panties? I DON'T WANNA GET MARRIED!"

Just like that, all four girl run away to the next corridor while Yuki silently smiles and flies after them, shooting fireballs at their bare butts, which present themselves through the flames when Yuki points at her sisters.

The girls manage to burst through the gates to the outside of the palace, run straight toward the lake, and without even thinking about the monsters in there, they jump in and dive to avoid more fireballs from Yuki's fingers.

Yuki stops her pursuit, shrugs while tossing away the lest of the transparent lingerie, then stares at the water with a smile while her sisters pop their heads out of the water one by one.

By now, Reimu, Rika, Tenshi, Shinki and Shikieiki are flying next to Yuki, who ignores the onlookers and shouts "that's for knocking me on the head with three-week-old bread!"

Mai looks furiously at Shinki and shouts "aren't any of you going to do something about this?"

Shinki giggles and says "stop whining and take your retribution."

Rika shrugs and says "I'd normally apply a good spanking, but I was told about what happened, so I letting this one slide."

Yuki grins at her sister, then says "hah, I told you, you wouldn't see it coming! Well now we are even, so..."

Without finishing her sentence, Yuki starts to whistle while flying away, then suddenly turns around, lifts her hand at Rika, then says "will be seeing you later, sis.", then continues on her way.

Moments later, the group from Gensokyo flies above the city of Makai, then Kogasa suddenly stops and asks "hey... do you guys hear that?"

From the comfort of Pandemonium's main hall, Shinki smiles, lifts her left hand, then gestures a sudden dive of her fingers, and at the same time as she does that, a powerful gusts blows Kogasa's umbrella from her hands and sends is straight toward the horrible, large statue, where it rams its tip on a large crack by the statue's left ankle.

Kogasa dives down, crying "my umbrella!", while everybody else seem to ignore her.

Once she reaches the ground, she finds the strong yellow-skinned muscular Makaian trying to pull the umbrella free, saying "don't worry little youkai, I got this... whoops!"

He pulls the umbrella out of the crack, but causes a reaction through the cracked statue that reaches all the way up to the last functioning flamethrower, and just like that, then entire statue explodes so violently, the vibration is felt all the way back to Pandemonium's main hall.

After feeling that vibration, Shinki happily sighs, then says "and finally, everything is back in its place."

* * *

It is morning at Gensokyo when the group finally arrives to the shrine, and Reimu is expecting to see her shrine turned upside down, and when she opens the back sliding doors, she gasps and screams.

Rika rushes to Reimu's side and asks "m-my lady, what's the matter?"

Reimu covers her own eyes as she looks away, points toward the living room through the kitchen, and says "my shrine is in one piece! Th-this is impossible! This is not my shrine!"

From the living room, Marisa springs up from the floor and angrily says "hey, what is that supposed to mean, you lazy shrine maiden!"

Sounding equally angry, Budou hops on the first counter in the kitchen and says "hey, papa is a respons... si.. sible... responsible adult!"

From the back of the living room, Reimu can hear Ail saying "you tell her, Budou!"

Rika sweats as she chuckles nervously and says "my lady I have to agree with them on that. That was a little rude."

Reimu angrily says "fine, fine, I'm sorry, jeez. Thanks for taking care of the shrine for us."

Tenshi pushes her way into the shrine, loudly saying "this was a VERY long night, so please let Rika", in an undertone she adds " and Reimu", then continues normally "through, so they can rest!"

Ail is sitting behind the small dinner table, and on top of said table is Suzaku, who squawks and telepathically exclaims "Rika-sama, I'm so glad to see you are well!"

Ail suddenly looks at Tenshi, gasps, then says "so you were with them after all! Wow, I guess we owe Mima fifteen thousand."

Marisa smacks her face with her hands, groans, then says "dammit, she somehow did it again! Bah, I guess I'll have to actually sell something in the village."

Ail rapidly adds "but you are so lazy when it comes to that."

Marisa kneels beside Ail, and with a dangerously murderous smile, she says "watch it, ze."

Alice is the last to enter the shrine, and her two tiny daughters immediately jump off their mother's shoulders and fly over to Rika, exclaiming "auntie!"

Ail suddenly asks "so what happened over there? Suzaku felt something happening to Rika, then suddenly recovered herself... after we got scared out of our pants by that... Michiko."

Alice sighs, then says "there was one surprise after another. Frankly, I am surprised this poor girl is still sane after all of that."

Alice places a hand on Rika's shoulder and feels when the shrine maid twitches, but manages to keep it secret.

After pulling her hand away, Alice shrugs and says "well, at least now I know I have another sister, and a good one at that. Not like Yuki at all."

Rika nervously chuckles, then says "oh my. Seems miss Yuki is high-spirited."

Alice immediately replies "more like an annoying woodpecker in your brain."

There is a short pause of words, and now everybody notice Tenshi has dropped on one of the table's cushions and has fallen asleep, so Alice sighs and says "well, I better get going now. Shanghai, Hourai, we're going home."

The two little girls let out a tired "aww", then jump off Rika's shoulders and join their adoptive mother.

Marisa chuckles and smiles, then says "well, everything is fine, the shrine's in one piece, and Reimu is back safely. I'm going home now, so wait for me, Alice."

Alice continues to walk toward the back exit while saying "just hurry up or I'll leave you behind."

Marisa rushes to the back, smiles when she passes by Reimu and Rika and says "I'll be seeing ya'", then runs after Alice, saying "hey, Alice, wait up! Really, if you're going to have a boyfriend, you better start practicing on your patience."

Even Rika lets out a weak chuckle when Alice's voice enters through the roof as she says "stop saying such disgusting things, you ordinary thief.", and Marisa replying "I only borrow things, not steal them!"

Ail suddenly gets on his feet, grabs Budou from the counter, then looks at Reimu, then at Rika, sees the exhaustion in their faces, and says "we better get going to the Moriya shrine. Sanae's probably starting to worry."

With that, he opens a gap to the Moriya shrine, enters halfway, then looks at Reimu and says "and that Michiko did something VERY WEIRD last night! Go and check the donation box out and make sure she didn't do anything funny to it."

He enters the gap and closes it immediately, not giving Reimu or Rika the chance to reply or say goodbye.

* * *

After lunch and a bath, both Reimu and Rika sit in their futons in their separate rooms, both looking out the high window with thoughtful faces.

Reimu sighs and thinks back to when Rika refused her first order, then thinks "that maid is so incorrigible. Bluntly denying my order like that... but..."

She then remembers when she said those horrible "kill yourself" words, and how Rika came so close to taking her life, then thinks "but she did it because she wants to stay with me. But what if she accepted to stay? What then?"

She now imagines a different scene, one where Rika accepted to stay with Shinki, and all Reimu can do is watch with a heartache as Rika vanishes in the distance with her new Makaian family.

She shakes her head to shake off that thought and says to herself "no, Rika is mine. She just showed us all she's devoted to staying with me, so forget about that, Reimu. Smile and be happy that she is here, and she's staying with me forever."

Meanwhile, over in Rika's room, Rika has gotten out of her futon and is now holding on to her scarf, reading the letters in kanji for "the will of fire" written in two halves, each on the end of the scarf, then thinks "what is this feeling... like I don't even want them touching me, or even near me?"

Rika remembers Tenshi's hug, and how she felt nervous and insecure, then thinks "but Tenshi is my friend. She would never harm me, not like those bullies from before..."

She then starts remembering Reimu's touch, and how that felt like the worst; like feeling her own mistress is suddenly going to attack her.

Rika starts breathing rapidly though her mouth, then yelps and tosses the scarf away into the left-most corner of the room.

She breathes through her mouth and waits to hear if Reimu would ask what happened, then completely relaxes when nothing of the sort happens.

The takes one last relaxing breath, then says "I can't wear that scarf, not when I'm feeling like this. But I can't let miss Reimu know either. I've already burdened her enough."

Rika gulps, lowers her wings, looks out the window, then says "I-I'll just tell her it's hot... yeah, that's what I'll do. Anyways, I'll get over this somehow, so I'll fight this feeling, for miss Reimu's, and all my friend's and family's sakes."

She walks over to her futon in the center of the neat room, kneels down and gets inside the sheets, then closes her eyes, whimpers for a second, then smiles and says "mama Shinki... thank you, my loving godmother from Makai.", then almost immediately falls to sleep, feeling as though Shinki herself is using her lap as a pillow for Rika, smiling motherly at her and combing the shrine maid's hair with her fingers.

* * *

My Loving Demonic Godmother The End.

Characters, Spell Cards and Scenarios belong to ZUN -Team Shanghai Alice-

Ail, Budou and Michiko were created by Willie G.R.

Rika Onkamikami, the Onkamikami family and clan, and Suzaku the bird of Vermilion were created by Snapshot 2010

Original Story by

Snapshot 2010

FEB 25 2011

Written by

Willie G.R.

* * *

**A/N:**

**And there you have it. Honestly, this chapter was shorter than I expected, even when using all three memories. Anyway, now that I am done with this, I'm catching up on some reading, then working on that Touhou and Kingdom Hearts crossover, and on the Pirates fic as well. I have another fic on the works too (one that is original and does not link to any of my other stories), but now I am saying too much again, aren't I? Oh, that's right, for those of you waiting for the next Sukima, do not fear, as I will also be working on that one, making it my main target once the crossover is done.**

**It's not that I want to mess myself up... it's that when I get blocked on one thing, I use the other fics to continue writing, AND by doing that, I help myself in inspiring me to continue with the fic I stopped before. Oh, it seems I said more about random things than about this fic. Umm, well, to be honest, it was VERY hard to write for me (especially those last two chapters), and not because of Snapshot's notes, but because of the story. Somehow, I can' focus well on sad stuff. Oh well, thanks for your prayers, which helped me finish this chapter sooner. Thanks as well for reading this far. Take care, and see you on my other Touhou fictions *smile*.**


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